Run, Joey, Run
by Kuinra Shisa
Summary: A story of lost love as told by Katsuya Jounouchi.
1. Appointment

**Disclaimer: **No I don't own Yuugiou or Yuugiou: Duel Monsters or Yuugiou: Duel Monsters Genex or anything related except for a few stories I wrote and so cards I made up. Glad we're clear on that.

**Ryu: **I just wanted to point out that this chapter is a songfic to the song 'Run, Joey, Run'; hence the title. I can't remember who it's by but I'll think of it eventually. In any case, the words in _italics _are the songs lyrics. Okay, enjoy.

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_**Run, Joey, Run  
**__A Yuugiou: Duel Monsters fic  
__By Ryu and Kioku Jonesu_

Chapter 1: Appointment

"Jounouchi-san."

Katsuya Jounouchi looked up from his lap where he'd been going through his dueling deck. "That's me," he responded to the secretary.

"The doctor will see you now."

Jounouchi placed his cards back in his jacket, got up, and walked to the secretary's desk.

The secretary looked up at him. "Through that door and it'll be the first room on your left."

Jou nodded in thanks before going to the door. As he grasped the handle he began to feel nervous. This was his first time seeing a therapist. He swallowed around the lump in his throat before opening the door and walking into a small hallway. He began to shake a little as he knocked on the door of the first room on the left.

"Come in," was the reply from the other side.

Jou opened the door and walked into the room. There was a couch next to the door and a table next to it. On the opposite side of the room was a desk where someone was typing on a computer. After a brief moment, the person on the computer spun around in her chair to face Jou.

"You must be Jounouchi-san. I'm Dr. Heisi. Please, come in and sit down."

Jou took the offer and sat on the couch while the doctor pulled her chair toward him.

"So, how are you today?" she asked warmly.

"Fine, thank you," Jou replied.

"Do you go by Katsuya or Jounouchi?"

"Normally Jounouchi, or just Jou. Except with..." Jou trailed of at the thought of the name he would have said next.

"Except with what?" the doctor asked, thinking this may get things right to the point.

"Oh, my girlfriend used to call me Joey because she thought my hair made me look American," Jou told finally her.

"I see," Dr. Heisi said, jotting something down on her notepad. "Now, I understand you've been having a recurring nightmare that's been keeping you awake at night."

"Yeah, that's right," Jou said sadly.

"What's this dream about?"

"It's about my girlfriend, or, my ex-girlfriend, I guess," Jou corrected. "She passed away recently."

Dr. Heisi continued to write down notes as she questioned the boy, "Is that what your dream's about?"

"Yeah," Jou sighed, "It's about the night she died. I was there, and saw it all."

"Tell me, what's it like going to sleep thinking you'll probably have this dream?"

"Probably, no, not probably, definitely. _Every night, the same old dream. I hate to close my eyes. I can't erase the memory, the sound of Julie's cries_."

"Tell me, what happened that night?" Dr. Heisi advice.

"_She called me up late that night, said 'Jou, don't come over. My dad and I just had a fight and he stormed out the door. I've never seen him act this way, my god he's going crazy. He says he's gonna make you pay...for what we've done...he's got a gun so run, Joey, run, Joey, RUN! _"

Dr. Heisi looked up from her notes, her eyes slightly wider. "Oh my, that's serious. What did you do?"

"_Got in my car and I drove like mad, till I reached Julie's place. She ran to me, with tear-filled eyes, and bruises on her face. All at once I saw him there, sneaking up behind me. Then Julie yelled 'He's got a gun!' and she stepped in front of me. Suddenly, a shot rang out, and I saw Julie falling. I ran to her, and I held her close, when looked down, my hands were red, and here's the last words Julie said...'Daddy please don't, it wasn't his fault, he means so much to me. Daddy please don't, we're gonna...get...mar-ried'_."

"And that was it?" Dr Heisi asked, scribbling another something down and then looking at the boy.

"Yeah, after that, she died. Right there in my arms." A tear slipped passed Jou's eye as he looked down at the floor, not wanting to break in front of a stranger.

"Well, Jounouchi-san, I'm afraid this is beyond me. I'm gonna give you the name of a psychiatrist that will be of more help," she told him, handing him a card off her desk. "I'll forward him a copy of this report. That's really all I can do for you."

"Well, thanks anyway doc. I'll show myself out."

Jou got up to leave, but collapsed as he grabbed the handle of the door.

"Jounouchi-san!" Dr. Heisi yelled, jumping from her chair and running to the fallen boy. She knelt down by him to see if he was all right and was met with the sound of his soft snores. "He's asleep?" Among those snores, the word "Julie" was audible. "The poor boy."


	2. Juile and the Duel

**Disclaimer: **No I don't own Yuugiou or Yuugiou: Duel Monsters or Yuugiou: Duel Monsters Genex or anything related except for a few stories I wrote and so cards I made up. Glad we're clear on that.

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Chapter 2: Julie and the Duel

"Uhg, did I get hit by a truck?"

"No, you passed out in the doorway. You've been asleep for about an hour."

Jounouchi sat bolt upright and realized he was still in Dr. Heisi's office. "Oh no. Gomen, gomen nasai. You've probably got other appointments. I'll just be going."

He started to get off the couch he'd been laying on but stopped when Dr. Heisi walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, pushing him gently back onto the couch.

"Calm down Jou-kun, its okay. Drink some water," she suggested, handing him a Styrofoam cup.

"Arigatou," Jou said, accepting the cup and taking a small drink.

Dr. Heisi walked back to her chair and sat down. She took a pen and notepad off her desk before turning to him. "While you were asleep, you said some interesting things. One thing that caught my attention was the name 'Julie'."

Jounouchi blushed a little and stared at the now empty cup. He wished someone had told him he talked in his sleep.

"I've canceled all my other appointments for today," Dr. Heisi went on, "because I believe there's more you want to say than you're letting on. I want you to tell me everything. Start with your meeting with Julie."

Jou continued looking into his cup a moment before starting his story. "It all started one day at school. Yugi and I were playing Duel Monsters..."

**(FLASHBACK)**

"I sacrifice 'Sangan' (1000/600) and 'Gamma the Magnet Warrior' (1500/1800) to summon 'Black Magician' (2500/2100). And thanks to 'Sangan's' effect, I can add a monster with up to 1500 ATK to my hand." Yugi picked up his deck and searched through until he found the desired card. "I choose 'Big Shield Guardna' (100/2600)." He put the card in his hand, shuffled his deck, and continued. "Then I'll play 'Monster Reborn' to revive my 'Black Magician Girl' (2000/1700)." He grabbed the card from the graveyard and moved it to the field. "I'll use 'Black Magician Girl' to attack Jounouchi-kun's 'Axe Raider' (1700/1150), reducing your LPs to 700. Then 'Black Magician' will attack directly for game."

"Ah, not again," Jou sighed, "I just can beat you Yugi-kun."

"You did good Jou-kun," Yugi said cheerfully, "take a look." He held up his dueling calculator to reveal the number 1400. "That's more than half my LPs."

"But in the end, it's just not enough," Honda teased.

"I'd like to see you beat me," Jou challenged.

"You're on. Move over Yugi."

Yugi got up and moved so Honda could sit down. He was just pulling his deck out when the sensei walked in.

"That's enough, everyone take your seats," he called over the noise.

"I'll take you on at lunch," Honda said as he and the rest of the class moved to their seats.

"Now listen up everyone," the sensei continued, "we're going to be having a new student join our class today, so please be polite to her." He turned and motioned to the door. "Come on in dear."

The classroom door slid open and in walked a girl with dark, bluish hair and pale skin. She kept her head bowed until she got to the front of the room. She looked up and smiled brightly at the class.

"My name is Julie Knollmen. I just moved here from America and I'm very much looking forward to studying with you all," she said cheerfully.

Most of the class just saw her as another student from America. But Jounouchi was one exception. He was entranced by her eyes, which were a deep, purplish-blue that matched her hair. Even though she wore a bright smile on her face, those eyes didn't reflect that happiness. They were wide, and looked like they had seen many tears and hardships. Jounouchi couldn't help but watch her every move as she walked from the front of the room to take her seat two rows away. The blonde, honey-eyed teen felt the irresistible urge to wrap his arms around her, to protect her like he might protect his own younger sister. But he decided he'd better not, not during class anyway.

He didn't hear a word as the sensei began to lecture. He just spent the whole time staring at the new student that held him in awe.

**(At Lunch)**

Jounouchi couldn't tear his eyes away from Julie for more than two seconds. He didn't even notice that Honda had managed to summon his 'Launcher Spider' (2200/2500) and wipe out the rest of his LPs.

"Yeah, looks like its not just Yugi-kun. Anyone can beat this moron," Honda exclaimed, celebrating his easy victory.

"Hey Jou-kun, are you okay?" Yugi asked.

"Hello, earth to Katsuya. Wake up!" Anzu called to him, snapping her fingers in front of his face.

Jou blinked a few times before returning back to reality. "Huh, what? What's going on?"

"You just lost a duel to Honda-kun," Anzu informed him.

"What, no way? How could I loose to an amateur like you?"

"You shouldn't talk about amateur duelists Jounouchi. You're not even to that level," came a cold and taunting voice.

Seto Kaiba had overheard Jou as he walked by. He didn't even stop to insult Jou, although he made sure to brush roughly against him.

Jou shot up from his seat and turned to yell after him. "That's it Kaiba, I've had it! Let's go, right now, you and me."

Kaiba stopped in his tracks and turned to face Jou, that evil smirk plastered on his face. "You've never beaten me before Jounouchi, not at Duelist Kingdom, not in Battle City what makes you think you can now?"

"Because I've seen you duel enough times to know your strategies by now. And I've figured out how to counter them all." Jou had raised his voice pretty high. He hadn't noticed the large crowd gathering, hoping to see two of the worlds top duelists go at it. Even Julie had come over to see the excitement.

Kaiba closed his eyes and shook his head at the blonde, that dark smirk still plastered on his face. "Fine, if you really want to lose, then how can I deny you? Be in the park after school, and have your Duel Disk."

The class began to disperse back to what they'd been doing, their hopes of seeing a world-class duel shattered. Until Jou spoke again that is.

"You're not getting off that easy Kaiba. Let's forget the high-tech stuff and duel the proper way." Jou gestured to the two dueling mats set up on his desk. "That is, unless you don't think you can win without your fancy holograms."

"That desperate to lose huh?" Kaiba asked. "Well then, let's see you put your money where your mouth is." He walked over to the desks, set his silver briefcase on the floor, pulled out his deck, and set it on the desk. "Well, are we gonna duel or not?"

"Yeah we are," Jou retorted, getting back in his seat.

They shuffled their decks; then traded, cut each other's, and returned them. Each drew 5 cards and said loudly, "Let's duel!"

"I'll take the first move," Kaiba (4000) proclaimed.

"Fine with me," Jou (4000) agreed.

"Before we begin," Kaiba said, "I want to make it very clear that Yugi cannot help in anyway."

This was directed more to Yugi than Jou. But Yugi just nodded, and so did Jou. He didn't want to win by Yugi's strength all the time.

"Good," Kaiba went on, "then let's begin." He drew. "I cover one card on the field and summon 'Giant Germ' (1000/100). That ends my turn."

Jou drew, "I've seen this strategy. That's the 'Crush Card' you're hiding there. But I'm not falling for it. I play 'Nobleman of Extermination'. This card can remove one facedown Magic or Trap card from the game. And I choose yours."

Kaiba flipped the card over. It turned out to be the pink-bordered trap called the 'Crush Card'. "So you have been studying," Kaiba said as he moved the card to the zone above his graveyard to represent it was out of play.

"And that's not all. I summon 'Marauding Captain' (1200/400) in attack mode. And thanks to his effect, I can summon another monster level 4 from my hand. So I summon 'Gearfried the Iron Knight' (1800/1600). 'Gearfried', attack his germ."

Kaiba's nostrils flared as he moved the card to the graveyard and subtracted 800 (3200) from his LPs. "You've activated my germ's effects. First, you loose 500 LPs."

Jou subtracted the 500 (3500) on his calculator.

"Then," Kaiba continued, "I can Special Summon two more 'Giant Germs' to the field in attack mode directly from my deck." He picked up his deck and searched until he found one and placed it on the field. He continued until he found another to summon. Once the monsters were out he reshuffled his deck and set it back down.

"All right, I'll use my 'Captain' to attack another 'Germ'. So you loose 200 more LPs Kaiba."

"Yes, but you loose another 500," Kaiba (3000) informed.

"Big deal," Jou (3000) said. "That just means we're even."

"Good going Jou-kun," Yugi complemented, "You've got a pretty good lead over Kaiba-kun."

"Thanks Yug. I'll cover one card and end my turn."

Kaiba drew. "I'll sacrifice 'Giant Germ' to summon 'Vampire Lord' (2000/1500) in attack mode. And I'll cover another card. 'Vampire Lord', attack 'Marauding Captain'."

"I don't think so Kaiba. Reveal facedown card," Jou said, turning his card over. "'Kunai with Chain'. This card will switch your vampire into defense mode and increase my captain's ATK by 500 (1700)."

Kaiba didn't say a word. He switched his vampire to defense mode and waved a hand at Jou to symbolize he was done.

Jou drew. "I summon 'Little-Winguard' (1400/1800) in attack mode. And then play 'Fairy Meteor Crush' on my captain. Now, if he destroys a monster in defense mode, my opponent still looses LPs. So 'Marauding Captain', attack his vampire."

Kaiba placed his vampire in the graveyard and took off another 200 LPs (2800).

Jou, "Then 'Gearfried' and 'Winguard' can attack directly."

"Not so fast," Kaiba cut in, "I activate my facedown card." He turned over another pink trap. This one had the picture of a graveyard on it. "I'll use this 'Call of the Haunted' trap to revive 'Vampire Lord' in attack mode. However, since a new monster has appeared, you're allowed a replay."

"Kaiba," Jou growled, "I'll switch 'Gearfried' into defense mode and end my turn. And thanks to the effect of my 'Little-Winguard', I can put him in defense mode during my End Phase. Your move Kaiba."

Kaiba drew. "I'll play a monster in defense mode. Then have 'Vampire Lord' attack 'Marauding Captain'. And since my vampire damaged your LPs, I can name a type of card and then you have to send one card of that type from your deck to the graveyard. I choose monster."

Jou (2700) searched his deck until he found 'Swordsman of Landstar' (500/1200), the weakest monster in his deck, and sent it to the graveyard.

"My turn's over," Kaiba said.

Jou drew. "Yes, this is just what I needed. Get ready Kaiba. First, I summon 'Alligator's Sword' (1500/1200) in attack mode. Then switch my other two monsters to attack mode."

"You're crazy," Kaiba chuckled, "What card could you have possibly drawn to save you from me?"

"This," Jou replied, holding up a green card with a picture of a man with a sword standing near a bunch of peasant-looking people. "'The A. Forces'. This continuous Magic card will give all my Warrior monsters 200 ATK for every Warrior and Spellcaster I have face-up on the field. And since I have 'Gearfried' and 'Little-Winguard', they each gain 400 ATK, putting 'Gearfried' at 2200 and 'Little-Winguard' at 1800."

"All right Jou-kun," Honda said excitedly. "You managed to power up your monsters. Now hit him hard."

"I plan too. 'Gearfried' attack 'Vampire Lord'."

Kaiba sneered as he put his vampire back in the grave and reduced his LPs to 2600.

"Then," Jou continued, "'Little-Winguard' will attack your facedown monster."

Kaiba smirked at him. "Baka. You fall right into my trap."

"What, but there aren't any Trap cards out," Jou observed.

"I said you fell into a trap, not a Trap card." Kaiba turned the monster over to reveal an orange card with the picture of a golden lamp on it. "See? The monster you attacked was the 'Magic Lamp' (900/1400)."

"So what, it only has 1400 DEF. 'Little-Winguard' can crush it now that I powered him up," Jou argued.

"True, your monster's ATK is higher than my monster's DEF. But there's more to monster cards than just ATK and DEF," Kaiba said.

"You mean?"

Kaiba's smirk widened into an evil grin. "That's right. My lamp has effects. And you've activated one of them. When it's attacked while facedown, I can redirect the attack to one of your monsters. And I choose 'Alligator's Sword'. So you lost a monster, and 300 LPs."

"Kuso...Kaiba," Jou growled, "I end my turn and switch 'Winguard' to defense mode."

Kaiba drew. "I'll use the second effect of my lamp to Special Summon 'Lamp Genie La Jinn' (1800/1000) in attack mode."

"So, my monsters can handle that."

"But can they handle this? Since 'La Jinn' was a Special Summon, I can still perform a Normal Summon too."

"W-wait. N-not that m-mon-monster," Jou stuttered out.

"I see you quiver inu," Kaiba laughed, "And you should. Because I'm sacrificing 'La Jinn' and his lamp to summon my "Blue-Eyes White Dragon' (3000/2500)."

Jou had for the most part zoned out at the site of the yellow card with the light-blue dragon on it. He thought that it mocked him. He'd fallen to this card many times that it haunted him.

He could hear various remarks from the spectator students like, "Jou-kun's screwed," and "Only Yugi-kun can beat a Blue-Eyes."

He glanced around the room in despair. It looked like the only people in the class behind him were his friends. But then he saw Julie. Her eyes reminded him of the eyes on the dragon he now faced. But he didn't find fear in those eyes. He, instead, found comfort. And that comfort gave him strength to go on.

Kaiba, sensing Jou was gathering courage, decided it was time to strike. "Blue-Eyes White Dragon', attack 'Gearfried the Iron Knight'. 'Destructive Burst Stream'."

Jou placed the monster in the graveyard and reduced his LPs to 1600, then looked Kaiba directly in the eye and said in his most confident voice, "Kaiba, this duel's not over yet."


	3. Be Mine

**Disclaimer: **No I don't own Yuugiou or Yuugiou: Duel Monsters or Yuugiou: Duel Monsters Genex or anything related except for a few stories I wrote and so cards I made up. Glad we're clear on that.

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Chapter 3: Be Mine

Jounouchi looked from Julie's comforting eyes, to the card in front of him, then to Kaiba. '_Man, what can I do? Kaiba's got out his 'Blue-Eyes', and none of the cards in my hand can beat it. I gotta think of somethin' quick.'  
_  
"Face it Jounouchi," Kaiba (2600) said, "You can't beat my 'Blue-Eyes'. You might as well just give it up now."

"It's not over yet Kaiba," Jou said.

"Well since this duel's not over, I'll cover one card and end my turn. So draw another useless card."

"We'll see whose cards are useless," Jou said. _'This is bad; all I have on the field is my 'Little-Winguard' (1600/1800) and 'The A. Forces. And I don't have any cards in my hand. This next card has to be a good one, or I'm finished'_ He drew. _'All right, this is perfect'_ "Now Kaiba, I play 'Precious Coins from Above'. This'll force us both to draw until we each have 6 cards in our hand."

"A desperate move," remarked Kaiba as he drew 5 cards, "but also a very dangerous one."

"We'll see," retorted Jou, drawing 6 cards. "First I cover 2 cards. Then I'll play 'Foolish Burial'. This magic card will let me take one monster from my deck and place it in the graveyard." He picked up his deck and searched for the card he wanted. "I pick 'Android Psycho Shocker'." He placed the card in the graveyard. "And for my final move, I summon 'Battle Warrior' (700/1000) in defense mode. And thanks to 'The A. Forces', his ATK increases to 1100. Plus, my 'Winguard's' attack increases to 1800. You move Kaiba."

Kaiba drew. "I summon 'Blood Vors' (1900/1200) in attack mode. And then play 'De-Spell', destroying 'The A. Forces'. And then I'll play 'Fissure', destroying the weakest monster you have on the field."

Jou placed 'The A. Forces' and 'Battle Warrior' in the graveyard, glowering at Kaiba the whole time.

"Now that that's out of the way, I'll use 'Blood Vors' to attack 'Little-Winguard'."

"Not so fast Kaiba, I activate 'Magic-Arm Shield'." Jou said, turning over the pink card. "Now I can take one of your monsters and use it as a shield. I choose your 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon'."

Kaiba growled as he slid the card to Jou, who placed it in an empty monster zone.

"Now you monster's attack is headed for your own dragon, which'll destroy it and lower your LPs," Jou said happily.

"How dare you pit my own dragon against me," Kaiba growled as he lowered his LPs to 1500. "I end my battle phase, so my 'Blue-Eyes' returns to me. I'll cover 2 cards and play 'Poison of the Old Man'. This card can either do 800 points of damage to your LPs, or increase mine by 1200. I choose to increase mine."

"Big deal," Jou said, "Just hurry up and end you turn."

"Very well, I end my turn," Kaiba (2700) said.

"About time." Jou said, drawing. "Hey Kaiba, I hope all 3 of those facedown cards aren't Traps, because if they are, they're about to be useless."

"Just make your move," Kaiba demanded.

"If you say so. I activate my facedown card, 'Call of the Haunted'. And since you used it earlier, I don't have to explain what it does to you. So I'll use it to revive 'Android Psycho Shocker' (2400/1500)." Jou took the card from his graveyard pile and placed it back on the field.

"Big deal, what good's it going to do you if my dragon can blow it away in one attack?" Kaiba asked smugly.

"You don't get it. I just wanted 'Psycho Shocker' to block your traps so I could play this Magic card. 'Share the Pain'."

"'Share the Pain'?"

"That's right. Now I can sacrifice one of my monsters to destroy one of yours," Jou said, now copying Kaiba's evil smile. "I sacrifice 'Little-Winguard' and destroy your 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon'."

They each placed they're monsters in the grave.

"And now," Jou went on, "I'll attack you directly with 'Psycho Shocker'."

Kaiba deducted 2400 of his LPs, leaving him at only 300.

The rest of the class, including Jou's friends, was in awe at this final move.

"All right Jou-kun, just one more move like that and Kaiba's history," Honda exclaimed happily.

"You can do it Jou-kun," Anzu added.

The rest of the class was cheering for Jou, but he wasn't listening. His eyes were locked on the eyes of Julie, who seemed only half interested. She noticed Jou was staring at her and gave him a small smile. Jou turn a reddish color and looked back to the field.

"I'm done Kaiba," Jou (1600) informed him. "Make you last move."

Kaiba drew. "I play the 'Pot of Greed', letting me draw 2 cards." He drew them and stared for a moment before he began to laugh.

"What's so funny Kaiba?" Jou asked.

"What's funny? I'll tell you what's funny. What's funny is you were right; this is my last turn," Kaiba answered. "And when it's over, you won't get another."

"We'll see. Just hurry up and play."

"As you wish," Kaiba complied. "I activate one of my facedown Magic cards."

"Magic cards?"

"That's right," Kaiba confirmed. "Your 'Psycho Shocker' can't block Magic cards, just Traps. So I'll use this one." He turned the card over to reveal a green border around a picture of a pale blue background behind a single, floating, aqua-colored ankh. "'Monster Reborn'. I'll use it to revive my 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon' in attack mode." He placed it back on the field. "And then, I'll use my other Magic card." He turned over yet another green card. The picture on this one contained two orange things that looked like a dragon and a demon on each side. Behind the orange images was a swirl of green, purple, and blue. "'Polymerization'. I'll fuse the 'Blue-Eyes' I have on the field with the ones in my hand to bring forth my most powerful monster. The 'Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon' (4500/3800)."

"Man, why'd you have to summon that?" Jou questioned in terror.

"To show you that I'm by far superior to you," Kaiba answered. "For now, I'll add this Magic card. 'Megamorph'. And since my LPs are lower, my dragon's ATK doubles, increasing it to 9000. And I still have one more facedown card. 'Quick Attack', so my dragon can attack right now. Say good-bye Jounouchi. I attack with the 'Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon'. 'Ultimate Burst'."

Jou didn't say a word as he placed 'Android Psycho Shocker' back in the graveyard and deducted 6600 of his LPs, reducing him to –5000.

"Looks like I win. Let me know when you learn to play." Kaiba said, picking up his deck and walking away to his desk.

While the rest of the class began to disperse back to their lunches, Jou remained sitting in his desk, miserable.

"Cheer up Jou-kun, you came close," Anzu said, trying to lighten Jou's mood.

"But that's the thing. He only had 300 LPs left. And he still beat me. I just don't get it. Why can't I beat him? I was one turn away. Look at the next card from my deck."

Yugi picked it up and gazed at the green card with the picture of fireballs on it. "One of the 'Hinotama' cards Malik put in your deck? You kept it?"

"Yeah," Jou said, "I thought it might come in handy. And it would've. If I could've used this card, I could have done 500 damage to him and won. I'm always one card short."

"Excuse me," came a soft, timid voice.

They all looked up and saw Julie standing there, her big, blue eyes bright and cheerful. "Um, Jounouchi-san, right?"

"Yeah, or just Jou."

Julie blushed a little. "Oh, well, I just wanted to say that was a great duel. You put up a good fight. I've seen some world class dueling in America and I don't think anyone could hold their own against Kaiba-san like you did."

"Um...uh...arigatou," Jou thanked, blushing a bit as well. "Do you play?"

"Not really, but it's so big in the US, you can't go anywhere or change the channel without seeing it," Julie answered. "Anyway, good job." She turned and went back to her desk, Jou staring, almost mesmerized, after her the whole time.

"Jou-kun...hello. Snap out of it," Honda called.

Jou shook his head once, bringing himself out of his daze.

"Are you okay? You kinda zoned there," Honda asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Post-duel shock, that's all," Jou replied.

"Looks more like new girl shock to me," Honda corrected. "I think Jou-kun has a thing for the new girl."

"Do you really Jou-kun?" Yugi asked.

"No, of course not," Jou said defensively, his flush deepening a little.

"I know a crush when I see one," Anzu said, "Jou-kun definitely likes Julie-chan."

"Shut up!" Jou yelled.

The bell rang and everyone walked back to their seats as the sensei walked in. As he began to lecture again, Jou's mind and eyes both wondered back to Julie, where they stayed for the rest of the day.

**(AFTER SCHOOL)**

"Jaamataashi, mina," Jou called to his friend as he headed home.

"Jou-kun?"

Jou turned around and saw Julie standing there, her dark hair blowing gently in the light breeze of the early evening. He stood there a moment, stunned by her. Those big eyes of hers seemed to grab hold of him and not let go.

"Jou-kun?" she asked again, concern in her voice now.

Jou snapped himself out of his stupor. "Uh...what...oh...uh...Julie-chan, right?"

"Are you okay?" she asked. "You just kinda zoned out. You did that during class too, I noticed."

"Oh, I just do that sometimes," Jou lied. _'Great, now she'll thing I'm crazy.'_

Julie laughed a little at him. "That's cool. I do the same thing sometimes. So, are you walking home alone?"

"Uh...yeah...I mean no... I mean, I'm moving in with my okaa-san and nee-chan and I have to go take some stuff over there."

"You have a sister?" Julie asked as they started walking.

"Yeah, her names Shizuka," Jou said. "She's 13 and goes to Domino Junior High. So are you headed home?"

"Yeah."

"Where do you live?"

"I live in a small house over on Chess and Fourth."

"No way, that's where the apartment I live in now is," Jou said happily.

"That's cool. But if you're moving in with your mom and sister, who do you live with now? Do you live alone or something?" Julie wondered aloud.

"No, my parents got divorced when we were little," Jou said. "Shizuka-chan went to live with okaa-san and I live with otou-san. But he's a drunk and I'm tired of living with him. And since I help paid for Shizuka-chan's eye surgery with the money I won at Duelist Kingdom, okaa-san decided I could move in with them."

"Wow, that's so cool," Julie said. She looked around at where they were and said somewhat sadly, "Well this is my house."

"Huh?" Jou looked up, puzzled. They were standing in front of a small, one-story house. He hadn't realized they'd been walking the whole time. "Well, then I guess I'll see you around," he said.

"See you," she turned and started toward her house.

"Hey, you wouldn't want to come meet Shizuka-chan, would you?" Jou asked the back of the retreating girl. "I think she'd like to meet someone new."

"That sounds fun," Julie said, turning back to him. "Do I have time to change?"

"Sure, I'll meet you out here in a few minutes," Jou said.

"It's a date," Julie said cheerfully before running into the house, glad to have met such a nice person.

Jou wasted little time getting changed and gathering some things. He came back down from his apartment in jeans and pale-green tee shirt, his dog-tag necklace around his neck. He was carrying a box of Duel Monster cards, model kits, and other odds and ends.

While he was loading the box into the car, Julie re-emerged from her house, wearing a navy-blue, sleeveless dress; a pattern of a rose stitched in gold into the front, and was carrying a matching purse.

"You look really nice," Jou complemented shyly.

Julie blushed a light pink. "You're too sweet. So where does you sister live?"

"Across town, but that's okay. I got my driver's license the other day and my otou-san said I could have his car since he's moving to America."

"You didn't tell me your dad was moving to America," Julie said.

"I didn't?" Jou asked. "I guess I forgot. That's the other reason I have to move in with okaa-san and Shizuka-chan. I wasn't about to leave all my friends here in Domino, not yet anyway. We'll all leave eventually, so I have to prolong our time together as long as possible."

"That's really nice," Julie said, getting into the passenger seat while Jou made sure he had all he needed before climbing into the driver seat. The card smelled strongly of alcohol.

"Sorry about the smell," Jou said, starting the car up. "I haven't gotten a chance to clean it out yet. Still a lot of beer cans in the back, so I have to make sure I don't get pulled over."

Julie laughed a little. "That's okay, I'm used to this smell." She immediately wished she hadn't said that and glanced down at her lap. Jou would've said something but at seeing the look on her face, decided not to. Not now anyway.

About ten minutes later, Jou pulled into the driveway of a cream colored, two-story house. It was a quaint house in a nice neighborhood, set a little away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

"It's so quiet and tranquil here," Julie commented.

"Yeah, but getting to school on times gonna be even more of a bitch," Jou said, pulling his box out of the car. "I told the gang I'd drive them to school in the mornings. I could drive you too if you want."

"Oh, I don't want to be any trouble. Besides, I don't think we'll all fit."

"None sense," Jou said, "I'll drive, you sit next to me. Anzu-chan, Yugi-kun, and Shizuka-chan can have the middle, and Honda-kun, Ryou-kun, and Otogi-kun can squish in the back. And your house is on the way anyway."

"Well it would be nice to not have to make daddy drive me," Julie said without thinking. "That'll give him one less thing to yell about." She immediately fell silent again, staring at her feet.

Jou couldn't help but ask this time. "Julie-chan, what's your home like?"

"Things are fine," she replied.

"Does your otou-san drink?" Jou asked, heading for the door with the girl following him.

"Lots of adults drink; it's not a real surprise." She replied, refusing to look up.

Jou fumbled with his keys but continuing to press the subject. "I mean does he really drink? Is he like an alcoholic or something?"

"What gives you that idea?"

"Well, you're used to the smell of beer, you try to find things to keep your dad from yelling, and I couldn't help notice a large bruise on your leg." Jou really didn't want to say anything, but he couldn't leave it alone anymore.

Julie, shifting to try and hide her leg, was about to respond when a voice behind them said, "Hey, what going on?"

They both turned around to find a girl, apparently 13, with long brown hair standing behind them. She was dress in the dark blue sailor uniform of Domino Junior High. Her eyes were almost the same honey color as Jou's only they had a grayish tint to them, and they were much wider and joyful.

"Who's your friend onii-chan?" she asked.

"This is Julie-chan," Jou replied. "Julie-chan, this is my sister, Shizuka."

"It's nice to meet you Julie-san," Shizuka said, bowing a bit.

"Same here."

Shizuka gave a sudden gasped. "Wait a sec. Is this a date onii-chan? You're not cheating on Mai-san are you?"

"Who ever said Mai and me were going out?" Jou asked.

"Who's this Mai-san?" Julie wondered aloud.

"Kujaku Mai, she's another duelist friend."

Julie suddenly became very excited. "You mean Mai Kujaku-san, the duelist who made it to the finals of both the Duelist Kingdom and Battle City tournaments?"

"Yeah," Jou said, a little surprised. "I thought you weren't into Duel Monsters."

"I'm not really," Julie said. "But like I said it's all you hear about in America. I've seen some of Mai-san's duels and she's really awesome. Are you really going out with her?"

"No we're just friends," Jou stated, somewhat embarrassed.

"Can we continue this conversation in the house?" Shizuka asked. "I'd like to change out of this uniform."

"Yeah, sure," replied Jou, unlocking the door at last.

"Do you think you can get me Mai-san's autograph?" Julie asked.

"I'll see what I can do the next time I talk to her," Jou said.

**(THAT NIGHT)**

Jou and Julie came out of the house, both waving back inside.

"Oyasumi nasai okaasan, Shizuka-chan," Jou called.

"Good night, arigatou," Julie said before the door closed. "That was a lot of fun."

"It was all right I guess," Jou said, getting in his car. "Your otou-san won't be upset if you're out so late will he?"

"He's probably passed out on the couch by now." She just didn't know when to stop.

"I knew it," Jou exclaimed. "Your otou-san's an alcoholic. Julie-chan, I've lived with an alcoholic my whole life; I know it's not good for you. You've gotta do something."

"It's okay Jou-kun, really. He's a nice person," Julie said sadly.

"There's no such thing as a nice alcoholic," Jou argued.

"Well what do you want me to do?" Julie asked. "It's not like I can live on my own. Or leave him by himself. You can't leave alcoholics by themselves. That's when they're most likely to hurt someone, like themselves. I had a friend, Ryu, over in America, whose dad died because he was an alcoholic. And then left his daughter with Ryu and his family. And then Ryu went and killed himself."

"I don't care about that," Jou shouted. "I don't even know them. All I care about is your safety." What he had said hit him quickly, but only after he'd said it.

They both fell dead silent, neither saying a word until they got back to Jou's apartment building, just across the road from Julie's house. They both got out and Jou walked her to her door, stopping with her on the porch.

"Look, I'm sorry about-" Jou started.

"No it's all right," Julie interrupted. "I'm glad to hear that you care. It feels nice."

"Well I said some things I probably shouldn't have," Jou went on.

"Really, it's fine," Julie tried to sooth. "You were right about some things." They both stared down at their feet for a while until Julie spoke up again. "We'll I'd better go in. See you tomorrow."

"Hai, jaamataashi." That said he started back to his apartment building.

Julie started into her house, but stopped in the doorway and looked back to him. "Jounouchi-san."

Jou stopped and looked back to her. She was a reddish color, although it wasn't too noticeable in the darkness.

"Jou-kun," Julie went on, "I know we just met but, would you like to be my boyfriend? Would you, be mine?"

Jou looked at her, dazed, a moment. His heart gave a great leap and he was left momentarily speechless, but finally managed to say, "Hai, daisuki. I wanted to ask you, but I wasn't sure. I would like to be yours"

"What's daisuki?" Julie asked, still learning her Japanese.

"It means 'I really like you'. Hey, this means you'll be mine right?"

"Hai, daisuki," Julie replied. "Oyasumi nasai, Jou-kun."

"Oyasumi nasai, Julie-chan," Jou said, blowing a kiss to her.

She smiled once more before going into her house. Jou walked back home in the darkness, his stomach in knots with worry for Julie.


	4. He's Awful

**Disclaimer: **No I don't own Yuugiou or Yuugiou: Duel Monsters or Yuugiou: Duel Monsters Genex or anything related except for a few stories I wrote and so cards I made up. Glad we're clear on that.

* * *

Chapter 4: He's Awful

HONK!! HONK!!

"C'mon Julie-chan, let's get going." Jou yelled, honked his car's horn again.

Julie came out of the small house across from Jou's apartment. "See you later daddy," called back into the house before walking down to the car and getting in. "Sorry about that." Her big, blue eyes seemed to be looking elsewhere, into the past, or maybe even the future. Jou wasn't sure; maybe he was just going crazy.

_'Maybe I'm just going crazy,'_ he thought to himself. "Its okay," he said. He couldn't help but notice the dark circles that hung under the new girl's eyes. "Did you sleep okay last night?"

"Yeah," Julie said somewhat quickly. "Why?"

"No reason," Jou said.

They were pretty silent through the trip to school. It was only yesterday that they'd met and only last night that they'd decided they were going out, yet there was already an awkwardness between them.

Jou parked in the back of the school like he had for the last few weeks. He'd actually enjoyed the quiet ride, despite the awkwardness. He knew once he moved, his car would be loud with his friend's chatter.

They walked into the school, hand in hand, and straight to their first class, not saying a word until they'd reached the door.

"Hey, listen," Jou started. "Is it all right if we don't tell the others about this yet?"

"Why? Are you embarrassed or something?" Julie asked, grinning evilly at him.

"No, but we just met," Jou said defensively. "The others would make a big deal out of it. We'd be the talk of the whole freshman class within a week."

"I really don't mind though," Julie said casually. "I was pretty talked about at my old school. A lot of my friends were."

"Just please, for me?" Jou pleaded.

"Well, okay. Just for you," Julie agreed.

"Arigatou," Jou said.

They released each other's hands and walked into the classroom quietly.

**(BACK TO PRESENT)**

"It just hit me," said Jou, coming out of his story.

"What's that?" Dr Heisi asked.

"To this day, the others don't know about Julie-chan and me. They all thought we were just friends." Jou looked down at the floor, feeling like he might cry again. "We were going to tell them soon, but then Julie-chan...Julie-chan..."

Tears fell from Jou's eyes with each of his silent sobs. After a moment, he looked back up at the doctor. "I'm sorry. Anyway, that day went by pretty normal. The others and me got to know Julie a little better. At lunch, we started teaching her Duel Monsters. She did pretty good for the beginner she claimed to be. But, after school..."

**(FLASHBACK) **

"So what are you guys doing after school?" Yugi asked his friends as they exited Domino High School.

"I don't have to work," Anzu said. "Why don't we all get something to eat?"

"That sounds like a good idea," Honda agreed. "Jou-kun, are you coming?"

Jou looked down at Julie, then back at Honda. "I don't think so. I need to move some more stuff into okaa-san's place. Julie-chan, do you need a ride home?" he asked the girl, giving her a small wink.

She smiled at him, her blue eyes so comforting, yet so pained. "Arigatou Jou-kun."

Honda grabbed Jou by the shoulder and pulled him closer. "Hey man, you and Julie-chan have been acting pretty chummy today. Is there something you want to tell me?"

Jou's face turned a light pink. "Nani? Of course not. What makes you say that?"

Honda looked intently at his friend. He knew Jou could be pretty immature about relationships. He still hadn't admitted he had real feelings for Mai, and now he may have feelings for this new girl. But he decided to let the subject drop, knowing talking to Jou could be about as useful as talking to a wall. "Well, okay. I'll take your word for it."

"Jaamataashi, mina," Jou said as he and Julie walked to his car.

"You think they're buying it?" Julie asked, getting into the black vehicle.

"I think so," Jou replied, "But I think Honda may be catching on."

"Its fun having a secret relationship even though we don't need to," Julie said as they pulled out of the parking lot. "Not like in America where..." she stopped dead.

"What? What was it like over there?" Jou asked.

"Well daddy was never really into letting me date people. He liked me to stay home with him," she said, staring into her lap all the while.

"What about now?" Jou asked.

Julie looked up at him, wondering what her would say.

"He's not gonna come after me with a pitchfork for going out with you is he?" Jou finished.

"Yeah, about that," Julie started nervously. "Do you think we could keep this from my dad too?"

"So he will come after me with a pitchfork," Jou confirmed. "Julie-chan, I think your otou-san is one person who should know."

"Just for now Jou-kun," Julie pleaded. "Until I can ease him into liking this place enough. That, or, if I have to tell my dad then you have to tell your friends."

Jou's cheeks went pink again. "All right, we don't have to tell him, for now."

"Thanks Jou-kun," she giggled.

"So what's it like living with you dad?" Jou asked. When she didn't say anything, he glanced over and saw her staring into her lap, her giggling having ceased. "Gomen, but I'm worried. If we're going to be going out, then we need to talk about this kind of stuff."

"I know it's just..." Julie let out a heavy sigh. "Daddy loves me. But ever since my mom died he's been different. He started drinking, and he got pretty violent."

"Are you saying he hits you?"

"Yes, but afterward he apologizes."

"That doesn't make it right Julie-chan."

"I know, but I don't mind it. He does worse stuff to me." She wished she hadn't said that.

"Like what?" Jou could feel his heart sinking.

"He says things," Julie said. "Tells me I'm no good. Tells me he hates me. He says he wishes I were dead. And he touches me," she sobbed.

"How so? Is he molesting you? Raping you?"

"He touches," Julie said. "And he makes me get naked for him. Sometimes he touches me, rubs me, then goes off and, well, I think you can guess. Other times he just sits and stares at me, making me sit naked in front of him, putting myself into awkward positions or play with myself or making me do my chores naked. He'll do it for hours on end." Julie began crying, huge body wracking sobs coming from her.

Jou pulled the car into the first parking lot he could find and parked. He leaned over and took her chin in his hand, making her look into his eyes, finally understanding the sadness he saw in the depths of her crystal orbs. He understood why she wore the expressions she wore. Her eyes were filled with the pain of the past. And her faced showed the fear and misery of the present.

Jou slowly leaned closer into her until his lips met with Julie's. She let out a soft moan into the kiss, tears trailing down her face as her eyes slipped closed in ecstasy. Jou pulled away from the kiss when he couldn't breathe, licking the tears off his lips. He looked at her again, her eyes, although still hurt and broken, now showed hope. Jou leaned over and kissed away each of the tears from her cheeks. When there were none left, he moved back down to her lips, running his tongue over them, asking for entry. Julie slowly opened her mouth, letting Jou slide his tongue in to meet with hers.

When he felt like he was turning blue, he pulled away again, taking a quiet, deep breath of air. Julie had done the same and was now reaching for him, drawing into a tight embrace. She acted like she was dying and wanted to spend as much of her last moments as close to Jou as possible.

"Julie-chan," Jou finally said, "I don't want this to end, but people are staring."

Julie looked up and indeed, people were looking at the two as they walked by. They straightened themselves up in their seats and Jou restarted the car before exiting the parking lot. They didn't say anything until they finally reached their original destination, the movie theatre.

"You know, Jou-kun, about back there. The things I said, they..."

"Weren't true," Jou interrupted, "Don't try it. I can see a lie anywhere."

"Well that's good to know," Julie said, "But what I was going to say is they better not pass your lips to anyone."

"Don't worry about that," Jou said, waving it off. "I would never do that to anyone. Especially my koi. Besides, how can they pass my lips if they're locked firmly to yours?"

Julie giggled and punched him playfully. "Thanks Jou-kun."

"Don't worry about it. Let's just go see this movie," Jou said, unbuckling his seatbelt. "You'll be one hundred percent safe with me. And so will anything you tell me."

She got out the car with him, feeling relieved and somewhat cleaner now that she'd told someone. Especially someone that she felt to safe and comfortable with.

**(THAT NIGHT)  
**  
"Hey Jou-kun," Julie said as they pulled up to her house.

"What is it?"

"I don't want to go home. Can I please come with you?" She instantly blushed at her own question.

"Won't your otou-san get suspicious if you don't come home?"

"No. He doesn't work tomorrow. He's probably passed out in the living room. He won't wake up until late tomorrow. He'll assume I came home and left." She looked down at her hands. "I'm sorry, I should have thought about what I was saying. Your mom and sister probably wouldn't want you just showing up with me."

Jou leaned over and kissed the babbling girl, silencing her. "Okaa-san and Shizuka-chan won't mind in the least," he said firmly after he'd pulled away.

"Thank you so much Jou-kun," she flung her arms around the boy, tears falling from her eyes and onto his shoulder. "Just let me sneak some clothes out really quick."

She got out of the car and ran into the small house, only to return a moment later, a small duffle bag in hand. She made sure the door was locked, then ran back to the car and got in. As soon as the door had closed Jou drove away, not wanting to be around long in case her father woke up. A few minutes later, they were pulling into the driveway of Jou's new house.

"You're sure they won't mind?" Julie asked him nervously.

"They won't mind at all. C'mon."

They got out of the car and walked to the house. Julie held her breath as Jou opened the door and they walked into a small landing. A staircase to the right went down five steps while one to the left went up seven.

"Okaa-san, I'm home." Jou called as he led Julie up the stairs. At the top was another landing; to the right, another staircase leading up to a hall that ended with a bedroom, having a bedroom on either side, and a bathroom on the left before that room. To the left of them was a living room with a couch set against the front wall of the house, an entertainment center across from it, next to a large desk with a computer on it, two rocking chairs sitting at opposite corners of the room. In front of them was a kitchen that looped around into the dining room, then back into the living room.

"This is such a nice place," Julie said in awe.

"Is that you onii-san?" Shizuka asked as she came bouncing down the stairs. She was wearing a t-shirt that was long enough to hang down to her knees, obviously ready for bed. "Where have you been? Okaa-san went out to look for you. Hi Julie-chan."

"What do you mean she went to look for me? It's only nine," Jou retorted.

"I know; she's a worry-wart," Shizuka said with a sigh before turning to Julie. "So what brings you here so late, Julie-chan?"

"Julie-chan's otou-san is gonna be out all night," Jou lied, "So I told her she could crash here tonight. Is it all right if she bunks with you?"

"Hai, we'll have a girl's night."

It was then that front door opened and Jou's mother walked in. "Katsuya Jounouchi-kun, where have you been?" she asked in frustration.

"It's only nine," Jou replied. "By the way, Julie-chan's gonna crash here while her otou-san's out of the house tonight."

"That's fine. I've been unpacking all day, so I'm going to bed. Oyasumi nasai." She climbed the last five stairs from the landing the three teens stood on and went into the room on the left, leaving them alone on the foyer.

"So who wants to crash in the basement? It'll be like a party." Jou and Julie both stared at Shizuka in surprise.

"What happened to 'girl's night'?" Jou asked.

"I was stalling," Shizuka said. "Now I know for sure. You two are going out."

"What, how'd you figure it out?" Jou asked in amazement.

"I have a way of telling. Yesterday you weren't, but I can tell you are now. C'mon, let's go hang out downstairs," she walked pass them and bounded down to the basement.

"Is she always that bouncy?" Julie asked.

"Yeah, she's pretty fun. Come on, you can change in the bathroom downstairs."

"Hey Jou-kun?"

"Yes?"

"If Shizuka-san wasn't down there with us, you wouldn't try to do anything to me, would you?" Julie asked tenderly.

Jou placed a hand on her cheek and smiled at her. "Julie, I'd never do anything to you that you didn't want. So don't worry. Because I love you." He kissed her once before leading her down the stairs, hand-in-hand.


	5. A Night Alone

**Disclaimer: **No I don't own Yuugiou or Yuugiou: Duel Monsters or Yuugiou: Duel Monsters Genex or anything related except for a few stories I wrote and so cards I made up. Glad we're clear on that.

**Ryu: **I was surprised that there was a review.

**Kioku: **I had figured that since this one was finished before we took it down no one would bother reading it once it was back up, so that was cool. But you know what that means Ryu-san.

**Ryu:** I know, I have to do a thank you bit. Okay, let's get this over with so we can get back to work.

**Felidae: **It's cool we got a new reader. Why didn't you want to read it at first? In any case, I hope you like the rest of it. This next chappy is one of my other self's favorites.

**Kioku:**_ /blush/_ Ryu-san, you weren't supposed to tell!

**Ryu: **Enjoy the chappy while my light kills me.

* * *

Chapter 5: A Night Alone  
  
Jou and Julie sat in the main room of the basement. Shizuka had gone into the other room, looking for a game to play.

"She's been in there a while," Julie said.

"Shizuka-chan can never decide what to do," Jou said casually. "She'll probably fall asleep in there."

"Doesn't she have school tomorrow?" Julie asked.

"Of course she does," Jou replied. "But she's so smart; she can get away with falling asleep in class and such."

"Sounds like the good life," Julie said dreamily.

"It does, doesn't it," Jou said, moving his hand to rest on Julie's. "But the best life of all is a life spent with you."

Julie blushed a little. "You're so sweet Joey."

Jou raised an eyebrow at the unusual name.

"Gomen," Julie said. "It's just, your hair and you accent make you seem American. I guess the name kind of slipped out." She looked down at the floor shyly.

Jou grabbed her chin and pulled her head up to look into her eyes. "It's okay Julie-chan, really. I think its kinda suiting now that I think about it."

Julie blinked once at him. "You really don't mind it?"

"Not at all." Jou replied, leaning forward and pressing a soft kiss to her lips. Jou wasn't sure, but he thought he felt a tear slide onto his upper lip.

He wanted to try and comfort her so badly, but at very that moment Shizuka walked back in. They heard her before they saw her because of the stack of game boxes she was carrying. Jou broke the kiss and got up to help his sister.

"Arigatou, onii-san," Shizuka said once she could see. She set the games down on the floor and sat down. "Okay, I've got Monopoly, LIFE, Chutes and Ladders, Mah Jong, Checkers, Chess, Clue, Candy Land, Hungry Hungry Hippos, and Sorry. I also have a deck of playing cards so we could play Go Fish or something."

Jou and Julie both sweatdropped at her.

Shizuka smiled and pulled the cards out of their box. "Why don't we start with Go Fish and see where that takes us," she suggested, shuffling the cards and dealing seven cards the each of them. "Player to the dealer's right goes first, so you start Julie-san."

"Okay," she said, still a little taken aback. "Shizuka-chan, do you have any threes?"

"Go Fish."

**(LATER)**

Jou and Julie sat amongst the many game boards and boxes. It was about two-thirty a.m. Shizuka had fallen asleep an hour ago, so Jou and Julie just watched TV. Julie was lying on the couch that sat against the wall while Jou sat on the floor, his back against the couch, resting his head near Julie's chest.

She looked down at Jou sleepily. "Hey Joey."

"What is it?" he asked, looking up at her.

"You do know it's almost 2:30 don't you?" Julie asked. "We've got school tomorrow, shouldn't we be sleeping?"

"Gomen," Jou replied. "I'm used to staying up late. I didn't once think about you. Gomen."

"Its okay, Joey. Sleep isn't something I'm so familiar with. I was just thinking of you is all." Her eyes had drifted closed while she spoke, trying to keep her tears from escaping. Only a single drop seeped through and rolled down her face. Sensing it was coming, Jou turned around and wiped that single tear away. Julie opened her eyes at the contact, a few more tears leaking forth.

Jou leaned in, kissing her softly, and said, "Don't worry. I'm here for you now. You can sleep all you want."

Julie closed her eyes and within seconds, sleep had taken hold of her. Jou brushed a few dark strands of hair off her face before lying back against the couch. He only lasted a few minutes more before sleep claimed him as well.

**(THE NEXT MORNING) **

"Onii-chan, Julie-san, you guys need to get up if you don't want to be late."

Jou opened his eyes to see his sister trying to shake him and his new love awake. Shizuka was already dressed in her school uniform, a navy-blue skirt and matching sailor top.

"What time is it?" Jou asked groggily, rubbing his heavy eyes.

"It's seven-thirty already," Shizuka replied. "Your breakfast is getting cold and you don't get to eat it until you've showered."

"Gimme a break Shizuka-chan," he said, rubbing his soar neck and turning to face the other direction just in time to see Julie wake up.

At first, she just opened her eyes. Then remembered where she was and sat bolt up, causing Jou to fall over. "Oh no. Gomen, Shizuka-san. Gomen, you haven't been trying to get me up long have you. I'm told I'm a deep sleeper. Gomen, gomen nasai."

"Calm down, Julie-san. It's okay. You can come eat while onii-chan's in the shower. I'll heat it up for you," Shizuka offered, giving a bright smile before turning toward the stairs.

"But that's not fair," Jou complained, pulling himself up.

Shizuka turned angrily to him. "Then you should've gotten up earlier! You breakfast is on the table Julie-san." That said, she left then and headed back to the kitchen.

Julie looked down at Jou. "Is she always so cheerful in the morning?"

"Yeah, although I can't figure out how," Jou replied. He looked at her and had to stifle a laugh as he noticed her hair, which was flying in many different directions.

"What's so funny?" Julie asked, looking slightly indignant.

Jou could only point as he tried his hardest not to laugh. Julie glanced up and saw how her hair was looking and instantly began trying to flatten it.

"So what?" she asked teasingly

Jou reached up and touched he hair. Despite having been slept on, it still felt soft to the touch. "It's beautiful."

Julie smiled, feeling better now. "Arigatou, Joey."

**(AT SCHOOL DURING LUNCH) **

"Hey Jou-kun, your otou-san finally moved out today right?" Honda asked.

"Yeah, and a day early. Which means I have a whole, completely empty apartment all to myself for the night," Jou replied.

"Then let's have a party!" Honda exclaimed, causing half the classroom to look up at him.

"Gomen, Honda," Jou said, "But I have plans. Besides, I can't trash the place if I have to be out of there by tomorrow."

"So then what are your plans? Sit and stare at the wall?" Honda teased.

Jou made a quick glance across the room where Julie was eating her lunch with Anzu and Miho. "I'm having someone special over."

"Oh, a lady friend perhaps?"

"That's none of your business now is it?" Jou said.

Honda grabbed his head under his arm and started rubbing his fist roughly against the top of it. "C'mon man, you know you can't hide anything from me."

"Let go of me ya big baka!" Jou exclaimed.

Anzu, Miho, and Julie looked at them from across the room. Anzu and Miho both let out a small sigh and went back to their lunches, Julie just laughed.

**(BACK TO PRESENT) **

"So you never told Honda-san who it was that was going to your apartment that night, did you?" Dr. Heisi asked.

"Nope, didn't say another word on it," Jou replied.

"I see," Heisi said, writing something on her clipboard. She looked up at Jou and asked, "Tell me Jou-san, why did you want to spend the night in that apartment if it was the place of so many bad memories?"

"I never really thought about it," Jou told her. "I guess with so many bad memories there, I wanted to stay there with Julie, try and create at least one good memory in that place."

Dr. Heisi wrote something more on her clipboard. "So, what did happen that night?" she finally asked.

"Well..."

**(BACK TO AFTER SCHOOL THE SAME DAY)**

Jou and Julie had managed to get out of school without running into Yugi and the others and were making their way to Jou's car in the school parking lot.

"You have so many friends, its fun trying to dodge them all," Julie said when they reached Jou's car.

"You have a pretty strange concept of fun," Jou told her as he climbed into the driver's seat.

Julie smiled at where Jou had been standing before climbing into the passenger seat of the car. A few minutes later, Jou pulled up in front of Julie's small house across from his old apartment. He looked at the house with disgust, then directed his attention to Julie.

"Your otou-san's not home, right?" Jou asked, worry easily audible in his voice.

"Don't worry," Julie reassured him, "he's at work now, so there's nothing to worry about."

"Okay, I'll be back a-sap to pick you up," Jou replied.

"Arigatou, Joey." Julie said, placing a small kiss on his cheek.

She climbed out of the car, waved once at him, and then disappeared into the house. A grimace crossed Jou's face as he pulled away, but he drove the car across to the apartment building's parking lot and parked his car. He climbed out and ran up the stairs as fast as he could and changed. He emerged shortly after in his trademark jeans and white t-shirt with the blue sleeves and square in the center.

His dog-tag necklace bounced off his chest as he raced back down the stairs, threw his school clothes into his car, and ran across the street just in time to see Julie walking out of her house.

She was wearing a dark blue, sleeveless shirt that matched her eyes with little silver speckles all over it and a black skirt that hung down to her ankles so not to hide her black sandals and pale feet, her entire ensemble being accented by her pale skin. Along with her dark hair and indigo-colored eyes, she looked like the night had a taken human form. A black overnight bag was slung over her shoulder.

"You look beautiful, just like the night," Jou said, causing Julie to blush a little. "But it's missing something," he went on.

Julie looked down at herself then back to Jou. "Nani?"

Jou reached into his pocket and pulled out a velvet box, which he held out to her.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Open it."

Julie took the box and opened it. Inside was a silver charm in the shape of a crescent moon connected to a silver chain. She looked up at Jou, her eyes wide, as if she were about to cry, and flung her arms around Jou, dropping her overnight bag and almost knocking him down, "Arigatou, Joey."

Jou pulled out of her embrace and helped her place the gift around her neck

"C'mon," Jou said, "Let's get going."

Julie nodded, a few thankful tears of joy rolling down her face, and followed Jou to his Jou's old apartment in the building across the street.

"Are you sure your otou-san won't mind you being here?" Jou asked as they slowly climbed the stairs to the apartment.

"Of course he doesn't. He was practically jumping for joy. He met some women at some bar last night. I told him I was staying with a friend tonight and he didn't say anything. He just got up and called her."

"Gomen, Julie-chan."

"For what, Joey?"

Jou went slightly pink at the sound of the nickname. "Well, I made you think about him."

They were now standing outside Jou's apartment. Julie looked at him, her indigo colored eyes showing love, yet pain. Joy, yet misery. Yes, Jou had reminded her of her father that she hated. But he had only done so because he was concerned for her safety. And that gave her a sense of comfort just being with him.

"Listen Joey. As long as I'm with you, no memory of him can upset me."

Jou leaned down and placed his lips softly against hers. He held her close to him while she clung onto him for dear life.

Jou finally pulled away, gasping a little and said to her, "We should go inside."

Julie nodded as Jou pulled the key out of his pocket. He unlocked the door and they entered the former den of pain. The room was empty; absolutely nothing was left. Nothing but a light lingering smell of liquor and countless memories that would be forever planted in Jou's mind. That and the overnight and sleeping bags Jou had placed by the door, where he was now taking his shoes off. Julie placed her things next to Jou's as they walked into the room a little more. It almost felt like they were a newly married couple, entering their first home together for the first time. They looked at each other, both feeling a bit awkward.

"So, what should we do, Joey?" Julie finally asked.

"I guess just whatever comes naturally," Jou replied.

Julie smirked at him and leaned up, kissing Jou lightly. He was taken aback slightly; Julie had never made the first move. But he accepted it, returning the soft kiss eagerly, running his tongue over Julie's lower lip. Julie took the clue and parted her lips, allowing Jou entrance into the moist cavern of her mouth.

"Joey," Julie moaned softly into Jou's mouth. It seemed like the kiss had lasted forever before the two parted, both gasping for air.

"Joey," Julie gasped.

"Hai?"

"I told you about what my father does to me, right?"

"Hai, but that's a bit of a mood killer, don't you think," Jou said. He was confused as to how they'd gone from making out to talking about Julie's father and the things he did to her.

"Well, just thinking about is makes me feel dirty," Julie confessed. "But, while we were kissing, I started thinking about what it would be like to do those kinds of things with you." She paused for a moment, blushing darkly.

Jou took her chin in his hand and pulled it up lightly so that he could see into those solemn, blue orbs that he loved. "Julie-chan, I want you to tell me what you're saying, because I think I follow but I don't want to get the wrong idea."

She stared intently into his eyes, indigo-blue meeting honey-brown. Just thinking about the color of his eyes planted a sweet taste in her mouth. And that sweet taste only fueled her indecent intentions. But first she had to get those intentions across to the one she loved. She sucked in a deep breath before going on with her words.

"Joey, I think that doing those kinds of things with you wouldn't be dirty. That it would make me forget about all those things. I want you to make me clean, Joey."

Jou stared at her in shock. She smiled and walked over to the door, where they'd left their stuff. Jou was starting to realize why Julie's bag was so big. She'd been planning this. He was so out of it that he didn't notice the sleeping bag Julie threw at him until it hit him in the face. He looked up and saw Julie unrolling hers.

"Don't you think it's a little early for bed?" Jou asked her, feeling a little nervous, yet at the same time a little aroused.

"We're not going to sleep, silly," Julie responded, smiling seductively. She had already opened her sleeping bag completely, making it wide enough for the both of them, and was placing the two pillows they'd brought up at one end.

Jou opened up his sleeping bag fully and laid it on top of Julie's. "What now?" he asked, wondering what surprising thing she'd say next.

Julie crossed to him and kissed him again, slowly and gently pushing him down until he was lying on his back with her on top of him. She pulled away so that she was sitting on Jou now and removed her shirt to reveal her navy colored bra that was also accented by her pale skin. Jou was breathless as she reached down and pulled his shirt off as well before running her hand over Jou's rough skin; his hard muscles easily felt.

Jou shivered at the touch and the cool air hitting his warm skin, causing Julie to look up. She saw Jou's head tilted back, his eyes closed in ecstasy, but she could also see the red color on his face.

"Joey, if you don't want to do this then, we don't have to."

Jou looked at her, the flush still vivid on his face. "It's just that...it's my first time."

"Well don't you worry about that," Julie said seductively, leaning down so that her breasts were pressed firmly against Jou's chest. "I'll show you what you've been missing out on."

Jou closed his eyes as Julie touched another small kiss to his lips, feeling himself start to harden while she began trailing slowly down his neck and onto his chest, stopping to play with one of the small nubs of flesh that was Jou's nipple. Jou hissed and moaned, his fingers entangling in Julie's hair, as she gave a light bite to the nub and proceeded to soothe it with soft laps of her tongue. She began descending again, pausing at Jou's waist to fumble with the button and zipper of his jeans and then remove them, sliding his socks off in the process.

Jou shiver at the cool air again and realized he was in nothing but his pale-blue boxers. But warmth soon returned as Julie crawled back up to him and began kissing the area around his jaw and ear. He decided to take this opportunity to become the dominant one by rolling Julie over so that he was on top of her now.

Julie was at first surprised but smiled as Jou began kissing her jaw and down her neck, mirroring her previous actions, his hands roamed down over her body, taking their time at her breasts. He began moving down her body, trailing his tongue over her chest and stomach. His hands found the zipper to her skirt and manage to get it down, allowing Jou to remove it, revealing navy panties that matched her bra. He began placing kisses up her soft legs, moving up to her thigh, and loving the soft moaning he was drawing from her. She suddenly sat up a little, causing Jou to stop and look at her in concern. It was his first time but he didn't think he'd mess up too badly.

Julie gave him a reassuring smile and said in a low, sultry voice, "Its okay, I just need to get something." She slipped out from under Jou and crawled, seductively, on her hands and knees, over to her bag, making sure her hips gave a small swing as she moved. She withdrew something from the bag before crawling back over to Jou. He could see it was a bottle she had gotten and, upon getting a closer look, realized it was honey.

"I didn't know you were into such kinky stuff," Jou said, his member now extremely hard and rubbing uncomfortably against his leg.

"I'm not really," Julie said, "but when I see you I always think of honey," she explained, her eyes beginning to regain some of their sadness.

Jou gave her a reassuring peck and told her, "It sounds like fun."

She smiled and lightly pressed him back down to the floor, then dripped a bit of honey onto her finger and rubbed it onto her lips. She brought the finger to Jou's mouth where he sucked the sticky substance off. She then began placing kisses down his chest again, a new feeling coursing through Jou as the honey made Julie's lips stick slightly.

When she reached his waist again, she slipped her hand under the elastic of his boxers and wrapped her fingers around the now fully erect appendage, Jou letting out a small hiss as Julie ran her fingers over the surface and base of him. She lightly pulled the clothing down and off, letting Jou's full length free. She then took the honey bottle and popped the lid open to squeeze some of the thick liquid into her hand. Once satisfied, she wrapped her hand around Jou's member again and began pumping slowly, making sure to cover every inch of it, running her sticky fingers over the head and tiny slit of him.

She blew a little cool air onto Jou, which felt even cooler because of the honey. But it was soon replaced with moist warmth as Julie wrapped her lips around Jou's length and began sucking slowly, causing him to grab the sleeping bag on either side of him and cling on to it as Julie slowly increased her speed, taking him faster and deeper. He could feel himself getting ready to release when the warmth vanished. He looked up to see Julie crawling up to him.

She bent down low and whispered into his ear, "You don't expect to get all the fun do you?"

"I guess not," Jou replied sadly as she began kissing and nipping at his ear. He used this time to reach behind her and unhook the clasp of her bra, letting it slide down her arms and off completely.

He rolled her over as he had done before and, grabbing the honey, poured some of the sticky substance in between Julie breasts. He began spreading it over her fine globes, trying to remember things he'd seen in dirty movies and magazines. Judging from the small moans Julie was emitting, he assumed he was doing okay.

Covered two fingers in honey he trailed his hand down her stomach, under her panties, and proceeded to insert one finger into her, causing her to gasp loudly. He began kissing at the sweet area around her chest while slowly moving his finger in and out of her. Eventually he inserted the second; cause Julie to cry out his name.

He moved down to her waist and removed his fingers from inside her, causing the girl to whimper a little, so that he could remove the dark material, leaving his naked angel of the night in front of him, only the silver necklaces they wore remaining.

He drizzled a little honey around the area of her entrance and began licking it away until he reached her flower where he slipped his tongue into the now sticky opening, drawing another loud cry from Julie. He began swirling his tongue inside her and sucking lightly, the taste of the honey melding with that of the fluids that escaped Julie to create an exotic blend that drove Jou mad.

"Ah…ah…uhh…ah….Joey…uh…can't hold…on…ah…much…longer…ah," Julie had managed to gasp out between moans.

Jou gave one final swirl of his tongue before withdrawing from her. He moved up level with her face; keeping one finger near her entrance, draw little circles around it that continued to drive Julie to the final point and began kissing her neck, moved up to her jaw, then to her ear where he whispered in a voice clearly full of lust, "I guess it's time for the best part then."

Julie gave a weak nod, her eyes clenched shut, letting out small moans as Jou's finger dipped into her every now and then. He drew himself up and took the honey again. A low moan passed his lips as he spread the sticky liquid onto his member. Then he turned the bottle over and squeezed every last drop over every inch of Julie's being.

He slowly lowered himself until the head of his member was fully inside her and then began moving back out again, drawing a small moan from the girl, before going back, a little deeper this time. He stopped and looked up at her worriedly.

"Are you sure you want this?' he asked, "We can still stop."

"Take…take me…please…Joey," Julie gasped out, moving her hips a little to keep the rhythm Jou had started.

Jou nodded and pulled himself out once more before driving fully into Julie, their hips colliding. Julie let out a scream, partially from pain, partially from pleasure. Jou's head shoot back up to see Julie's face; eyes clenched shut, mouth open in a now silent cry. She calmed down and looked at him, nodding so that he knew he could go on. Jou nodded again before withdrawing himself and plunging back in, the sensation of the honey sticking their flesh together driving them both mad with pleasure.

Jou continued this motion, slowly quickening his pace while simultaneously Julie began bucking her hips in rhythm with Jou, who was only moving his hips now while he pressed his body against Julie's sticky, lithe form, rubbing his chest against her breasts, pressing his lips to hers and taking all of her moans into his mouth. He released her from the kiss so that he could put more force into his thrusts and increase his speed.

"Ah…uhh…ah…" Julie moaned out, "Ah…uh…Joey…can't…last…ah…any…JOEY!" she cried out his name as she climaxed.

It was only a few thrusts more before Jou released inside her, screaming her name as loud as his vocal cords would allow. Completely spent, he collapsed onto her, managing to roll over so as not to crush her. The two of them laid next to each other a moment, naked and sticky, waiting for their breathing to return to normal. Finally, Jou turned his head to look into the night blue orbs of Julie's eyes.

"I love you, Julie-chan," he breathed out.

"I love you too, Joey," she replied.

Jou smiled at her and drew the covers up over them both before they fell to the edge of sleep in each other's embrace, their necklaces entangled in a small mass, reflecting the faint light of the raising moon shining through the window.

"Someday, when we're older, will you marry me?"

Julie's eyes snapped open. She looked at Jou, who was blushing profusely, and smiled. "Of course, Katsuya Jounouchi. I'll marry you"

"Good," Jou said before drifting off to sleep, Julie following soon after.


	6. Lover's Duel

**Disclaimer: **No I don't own Yuugiou or Yuugiou: Duel Monsters or Yuugiou: Duel Monsters Genex or anything related except for a few stories I wrote and so cards I made up. Glad we're clear on that.

* * *

Chapter 6: Lover's Duel

Jou woke to the sun shining in his eyes on Sunday morning. He felt like he'd been covered in sugar water, he was so sticky. Not only that, but he was more exhausted than he'd ever been. _'What happened last night?'_ he thought to himself, putting his hand to his forehead.

Jou woke to the sun shining in his eyes on Sunday morning. He felt like he'd been covered in sugar water, he was so sticky. Not only that, but he was more exhausted than he'd ever been. he thought to himself, putting his hand to his forehead. 

He turned his head and saw, to his surprise, a discarded, empty bottle of honey. Sitting bolt up right he looked down at himself to discover he was stark naked. He was startled even more when her heard a small groan from the spot next to him. He looked over to see Julie, not a thing on her but the crescent-moon necklace he'd given her the day before.

'_It wasn't a dream,'_ he thought, lying back down. _'No it wasn't a dream; it was the greatest night of my life. I can't think of what everyone would say if they knew.'_ He thought on, the image of his friends faces coming to mind. Honda going insane with jealousy; Anzu going red from embarrassment; and little Yugi's innocent eyes widening in shock. It was his quiet chuckling that woke Julie.

"Wha' time iz't?" she asked groggily.

"Early love," Jou said, rolling over to look at her.

Julie's eyes opened a little wider in shock at not waking in her own bed, but settled when she heard Jou's voice and felt the heat drifting off of him. She rolled over to look at him, the sleeping bag shifting a little to reveal one of her young, sticky breasts. Jou blushed a little, but after last night, let it slide. Julie laughed a little at his shyness and snuggled into him closer. Jou wrapped his arm around her and held her, loving the silence and the smell of her hair mixed with the aroma of honey.

"Hey Joey," Julie said sleepily.

"Hm?" Jou replied, starting to drift back into dream world.

"You're supposed to be out of here by noon today aren't you?"

"Hai."

"Then shouldn't we be getting ready to leave silly?" Julie giggled.

"Hai," he replied, smiling.

He managed to pull himself off the floor and then helped Julie to her feet. They stared at each other a moment, their naked forms close to each other. And then they kissed, flesh meeting flesh as the kiss deepened, Jou's tongue sliding into Julie's mouth and meeting with her own. The kiss lasted only a moment before Julie pulled away, slowly sucking on Jou's tongue as she did.

"Let's get cleaned up," she whispered, "we're still all sticky."

Jou let out a heavy sigh, "Okay, I suppose you're right." He kissed her once more before gathering some towels, a bath kit, and clean clothes from their bags and led Julie to the small bathroom, deciding to shower together.

They both stepped under the warm spray of the shower, letting the steam raise and cloud their vision slightly. They took turns bathing each other, taking their time as they reached each other's sensitive areas. It wasn't until Jou started washing Julie's hair that they stopped and fell into another deep kiss, the suds running down both their forms.

Jou slowly slid his hand down and inserted one finger into her, causing her gasp a little, but accepted it, moaning into the kiss as Jou slid his finger in and out of her. She bit lightly on his lower lip when he added another finger to keep from screaming. He began to quicken his pace and, just to torture her, inserted a third finger.

"Joey," Julie panted out, "if you're going to take me then do it."

"Are you sure you want me to," he asked seductively, slowing his pace.

"I want you as much now as I did last night," she gasped.

"If that's you're wish," Jou said.

He withdrew his finger from inside his love, waited for some of the foamy suds to slide down Julie's form to her entrance, and then drove himself inside her. He began to thrust in and out of the warmth that was Julie, the suds making his actions easier. He pressed Julie's back completely against the tile wall of the shower, increasing his force as he did so, pushing his lips to Julie's in a somewhat bruising kiss. Julie's head was swimming with passion. Last night Jou had been so gentle, so worried for her. Today, he was so forceful, taking what he wanted for himself, just like her father. But for some reason, that made her want him even more.

"Jo…ah…uh…Joey…" Julie gasped out, "don't…hol…hold b…back. Just take…take m…me!"

Jou wasn't sure what she was talking about; he was giving it all he had. But, just as she asked, he began thrust into her at full force, each one forcing her back against the wall even harder. He was afraid he'd be hurting her but she seemed to love it, considering her hips were now meeting his own with crushing force. It wasn't much longer until she screamed out Jou's name as she climaxed, her muscles tightening around Jou's member, causing him to release inside Julie, her name passing his lips in a loud grunt. They both stood under the hot spray of the shower, panting deeply, their muscles giving slight twitches every now and then.

"Feeling…better?" Julie panted teasingly.

"Hai. And you?" Jou asked.

"Much," Julie replied, "shall we get out of here then?"

"Hai."

Jou pulled himself out of Julie and they both rinsed off. They dried each other and left the bathroom. Back in the living room, they dressed in clean clothes and began collecting the items left on the floor from the previous night.

"These will have to go to the laundry mat to get the honey out," Julie said, rolling up her sleeping bag.

"Guess so," Jou said, "but can it wait until after we eat? I'm starvin' "

"Sure Joey," she giggled, kissing his cheek.

The two of them looked around the room one final time to make sure they hadn't forgotten anything.

"Looks like we got everything," Julie said.

"Yeah, I guess so," Jou said, staring around mindlessly.

"Joey, are you all right," concern clear in her voice.

"There are so many memories here. Some bad, like dealing with otou-san's drinking and gambling. Some good, like talking to Shizuka after her operation and workin' on my deck for so many tournaments," Jou said, sighing a little. "And of course, last night."

"I know a lot of your memories are in this place," she kissed him, "But it's time to close the door on this chapter of your life and move on."

"But I don't know if I can do it."

"Yes you can, Katsuya Jounouchi. You gave your all for your sister in Duelist Kingdom and you overcame the most over whelming odds in Battle City. That's why I fell in love with you!" Julie froze, unable to speak. She had just confessed her biggest secret to her lover.

"Wait, you mean…"

"Yes Joey, I have always loved you. I saw your duels and hoped someday I could be as strong as you. In dueling and in life. I know you're stronger than this. I know because you've always said your strength comes from the ones you love. Well your friends still love you and so does you sister. And…so do I…" she was cut off by Jou's lips against hers.

"I love you too," he said, pulling back, "and you're right. I can do it." He turned and walked to the door. Throwing it open, he stepped out into the open hallway and yelled to the town before him, "I'm gonna go on without this place!"

"No one cares!" "Shut the fuck up!" "Don't make me kill you punk!" Just a few of the replies that could be heard from the surrounding apartments.

"Such nice neighbors you have," said Julie, walking out of the apartment.

"All the more reason to get out of here," Jou said, "Come on, let's go."

Julie kissed him gently once, "Hai, let's go."

They got everything out of the room and closed the door. Jou put the key into hole but froze. He looked over to Julie for reassurance who gave him a small nod. Jou smiled before turning the key and locked the door on the dark room of his heart out of his life forever.

**(PRESENT)**

"How did it feel locking that door for the final time?" Dr Heisi asked, writing a little more.

"It was the greatest thing ever, well almost," Jou replied, blushing a little.

"I can imagine. So how did you two spend the rest of the day?"

"It was pretty cool. We…"

**(BACK TO THE PAST)**

After returning the key to the apartment manager and loading the car with their stuff and anything Jou had left, they decided to go to the café across from Domino Station for a bite to eat.

" 'Ey 'Ulie," Jou said through a mouth-full of muffin.

"Yes Joey?"

He swallowed before he went on. "You said you wanted to be as strong as me in life and in dueling."

"Yeah, so?"

"That means you lied to me," he said, taking a sip of his drink, "You've always said you weren't really into Duel Monsters. But I bet you are."

"Guilty as charged," she said, blushing. "I do play, although I don't think I'm very good. I try using a lot of cards you use, but I never seem to win."

"Really, mind if I see your deck?"

"Um, sure," she said, blushing. She put down her drink and, reaching into her bag, pulled out a small case. She opened it and pulled out her dueling deck, which she handed to Jou.

"Okay," Jou said, "Let's see what you've got:

Female Warrior of the Moon (2100/1400)  
Dunames Dark Witch (1800/1050)  
Element Magician (1500/1200)  
Amazoness Chain-Wielder (1500/1300)  
D.D. Warrior Lady (1500/1600)  
Rocket Warrior (1500/1300)  
Amazon Archer (1400/1000)  
Harpy Lady 1 (1300/1400)  
Harpy Lady 2 (1300/1400)  
Harpy Lady 3 (1300/1400)  
Marauding Captain (1200/400)  
Rouge Magician (1200/1200)  
Black Forest Witch (1100/1200)  
Landstar Swordsman (500/1200)  
Moke Moke (300/100)  
Magician of Faith (300/400)  
Copycat (0/0)  
Scapegoat (M)  
Harpy's Hunting Ground (M)  
Cyber Bondage (M)  
Angel's Gift (M)  
Cyclone (M)  
Magic Effect Arrow (M)  
Tough Love (M)  
Monster Reborn (M)  
Devastation of Greed (M)  
Dark Hole (M)  
Giant Trunade (M)  
Power of Faith (M)  
Double Life Ender (M)  
Deal Making Devil (M)  
Angel's Dice (M)  
Necklace of Gifts and Plunder (M)  
Demon's Dice (T)  
God's Blessing (T)  
Double Life Saver (T)  
Heavenly Punishment (T)  
Soul Line (T)  
Harpy Lady – Suzaku Formation (T)

This is a pretty powerful deck, Julie-chan. Except its only got 39 cards, so it can't be used," he informed her.

"Huh, there should be 40." She picked up the box and looked inside. "Oh, here, this one was stuck," she handed the card to Jou.

He took it and looked down at it. "Wow, I've never seen this card before. 'Night's Lover, Aria'. Dark, Spellcaster, Level 8, 1200 attack, 2600 defense. Not that great if you ask me."

"Probably because you didn't read her effect," Julie said.

Jou looked down at the card again and read on. "'No sacrifices are required to Normal Summoned or Set this card. This card can only be Normal Summoned, Flip Summoned, or Special Summoned if there are at least 2 face-up LIGHT monsters on your side of the field. If this monster is sent from the field to the graveyard, during your next Standby Phase you may sacrifice a LIGHT monster on your side of the field to Special Summon this monster from your graveyard and increase its ATK by the level of the sacrificed monster x 200. When this monster is successfully Normal Summoned, Flip Summoned, or Special Summoned (except by its own effect) offer 2 LIGHT monsters on your side of the field as tributes. Increase this monster's ATK by the original ATK of the 2 sacrificed monsters. Once per turn, if this card has an ATK of 2000 or less, you may Special Summon a LIGHT monster from your graveyard to the field in face-up defense mode with half its original ATK.' Wow, that's a pretty powerful card!"

"Yeah, she's my favorite," Julie said plainly, taking a bite of her bagel.

"So how can you never win?"

"It's weird. I can get her on the field, but my opponent's can destroy her. It's always the Trap cards that get me."

"Trap cards? Then I've got an idea." He set the deck down and pulled out his own, along with a few extras. "Let's see, I'll move 'Warrior of the Sun' back into my deck, I haven't used him for a while."

"Okay, but that gives you a 41 card deck doesn't it?"

"Yeah, here take this," Jou said, handing her the 'Moke Moke' from her deck. He then took a card from his own deck and moved it to Julie's. "Here, now Traps won't be a problem." He handed the deck back to here.

She took the deck and looked at the card he'd placed in it. "Android Psycho Shocker," she gasped out, "But this card is extremely rare, it's the first card you won in Battle City, I can't take this."

"Yes you can, because I won't let you not take it. This is one of my favorite cards and I can still win without. You need it more than me. Plus, I has my heart in it, so I want you to keep it."

"But I…"

"Duel me," Jou cut in. "If you don't believe me then duel me and you'll see."

Julie stared at him in shock, but nodded. "All right, you're gonna regret this."

They shuffled and cut each other's deck, set their dueling calculators to 4000 and said "Duel".

Jou (4000), "I'll go first, draw. I cover 2 cards and summon 'Axe Raider' (1700/1150) in attack mode. Ending my turn."

Julie (4000), "My turn," she drew, "I summon 'Marauding Captain' (1200/400). And then use his effect to Special Summon 'Dunames Dark Witch' in attack mode. (1800/1050). Then I'll equip her with 'Necklace of Gifts and Plunder'. But its effect won't activate until you send it to the graveyard."

'_I should've read those cards more carefully,'_ Jou thought.

"Now," Julie said, "'Dunames Dark Witch', attack 'Axe Raider'."

"Reveal 'Magic-Arm Shield'," Jou said. "Now I can use your 'Marauding Captain' as a shield."

"So he's destroyed and I lose 600 LPs?"

"That's right."

Julie (3400), "I cover 2 cards and end my turn."

"My turn again," Jou said, drawing. "I play the 'Legendary Blade', raising 'Axe Raider's' attack and defense by100 points (1800/1250), plus, 'Axe Raider' won't be destroyed by monsters with the same ATK. 'Axe Raider', attack her 'Dark Witch'."

"So my witch goes to the graveyard too, but I won't lose any LPs (3400)," Julie said. "But you activated the effect of my 'Necklace'. Now I can either draw a card or send one card from your hand to the graveyard. I think I'll get rid of one of your cards. Discard the one on the left."

"A good choice," Jou said, placing 'Time Wizard' (500/400) in the graveyard. "You got rid of one of my best cards."

"I know," Julie replied, "And it gets better. Because I'm chaining my 'God's Blessing' Trap card to it. Now whenever I draw a card, I gain 500 LPs."

"I'm done," Jou said somewhat nervously.

Julie (3900) drew. "I play the Field Magic card 'Harpy's Hunting Ground'. With this card, all Winged-Beast monsters gain 200 ATK. I summon 'Harpy Lady 1' (1300/1400). My 'Hunting Ground' gives her 200 ATK and DEF (1500/1600). And then her own effect gives all WIND monsters 300 more ATK, including herself (1800)."

"But her ATK is the same as my 'Axe Raider', so she still can't destroy him," Jou said.

"Did I forget to mention the other effect of 'Harpy's Hunting Ground'?" Julie asked.

"Yes, I think you did."

"When I summon a 'Harpy Lady' or 'Harpy Lady Sisters' I can destroy a Magic or Trap card on the field," Julie said. "And I choose 'Legendary Blade', meaning 'Axe Raider's' ATK returns to normal (1700/1150)."

"But the monster you summoned is named 'Harpy Lady 1', so it shouldn't work," Jou said.

"True, but 'Harpy Lady 1's' other effect makes her name count as just 'Harpy Lady'," Julie corrected. "And with 'Legendary Blade' gone, I can use 'Harpy Lady 1' to attack 'Axe Raider'."

"Activate 'Fairy Box'," Jou declared. "Now, I flip a coin and call it. If I get it right, your attack is blocked. I call heads." He took a coin from his pocket, flipped it into the air, and let it hit the table.

* * *

**Ryu: **Hey people. Just wanted to make a quick note. The card 'Night's Lover, Aria' is and original card thatI created. Incase you're wondering, here's the exact text that I wrote for the card. 

Night's Lover, Aria (SCR)  
8/DARK/Spellcaster/EFT  
ATK: 1200 DEF: 2600  
EFT: No sacrifices are required to Normal Summoned or Set this card. This card can only be Normal Summoned, Flip Summoned, or Special Summoned if there are at least 2 face-up LIGHT monsters on your side of the field. If this monster is sent from the field to the graveyard, during your next Standby Phase you may sacrifice a LIGHT monster on your side of the field to Special Summon this monster from your graveyard and increase its ATK by the level of the sacrificed monster x 200. When this monster is successfully Normal Summoned, Flip Summoned, or Special Summoned (except by its own effect) offer 2 LIGHT monsters on your side of the field as tributes. Increase this monster's ATK by the original ATK of the 2 sacrificed monsters. Once per turn, if this card has an ATK of 2000 or less, you may Special Summon a LIGHT monster from your graveyard to the field in face-up defense mode with half its original ATK.


	7. Lover's Struggle

**Disclaimer: **No I don't own Yuugiou or Yuugiou: Duel Monsters or Yuugiou: Duel Monsters Genex or anything related except for a few stories I wrote and so cards I made up. Glad we're clear on that.

* * *

Chapter 7: Lover's Struggle 

"Heads!" Jou said excitedly as the coin landed on the table. "That means your attack is negated. So my 'Axe Raider' is safe."

"So he is," Julie (3900) replied, "Your luck's as good as ever."

"Sure is," Jou (4000) said.

"I end my turn," Julie said.

"Watashi no turn, draw," Jou, said. "My 'Fairy Box' requires 500 LPs for upkeep each turn, so I'll send it to the graveyard. Then sacrifice 'Axe Raider' to summon 'Total Defense Shogun' (1550/2500) in attack mode."

"Why sacrifice for a weaker monster?" Julie asked. "It has decent DEF, but that's useless in attack mode."

"True," Jou said, "But when this shogun is Normal Summoned, he automatically switches to defense mode." He turned the card sideways. "And I'll use this Magic card, 'Death Meteor'. This card will inflict 1000 points of direct damage to your LPs."

Julie (2900), "1000?"

"That's right," Jou said. "And because I played it when you had a monster on the field, I can command that monster to attack me. So 'Harpy Lady 1' (1800/1600), attack my shogun."

"So I loose another 700 LPs?" Julie (2200) asked.

"'Fraid so," Jou confirmed. "I'll cover one card and end my turn."

Julie drew, "'God's Blessing' gives me 500 LPs (2700). I play the magic card 'Tough Love'. Now I pick up 5 cards and show them to you." She picked 5 cards from her deck and held them so Jou could see them. 'Female Warrior of the Moon', 'Harpy Lady 3', 'Amazon Archer', 'Cyber Bondage', 'Giant Trunade'. "Now I pick one to put in my hand. I choose…'Harpy Lady 3'." She placed it with the rest of her hand. "Now, you choose two and send them to the graveyard."

"Alright," Jou said, "discard 'Cyber Bondage' and 'Female Warrior of the Moon'."

Julie placed the cards in the graveyard. "And the last two are shuffled back into my deck." She placed them on top of her deck and shuffled. "I summon 'Harpy Lady 3' (1300/1400) in attack mode. And because of my other two cards, 'Harpy Lady 1' and 'Harpy's Hunting Ground', her stats rise (1800/1600). And also, I now have to destroy a Magic or Trap card, so I choose your facedown card."

Jou nodded, smiling, as he placed 'Bottomless Trap Hole' in the grave. "Anything else for your turn?" he asked.

"Yes," Julie replied, "I activate my facedown continues magic card 'Power of Faith'. This card lets me Special Summon one monster from my graveyard. 'Female Warrior of the Moon' (2100/1400), awakens." She placed the card back on the field. "End of turn."

"My turn," Jou said as he drew, "I play the 'Precious Coins from Above'. Now we each draw until we both have 6 cards in hand." Jou drew 4 cards.

"But remember Jou," Julie said, "since I'm drawing cards, I gain 500 LPs from 'God's Blessing'," Julie (3200) said, drawing 6 cards."

"Then I'll play this Magic card," Jou went on. "'Gathering Troops'. Now I have to Special Summon as many level 4 and lower monsters from our hand as possible. I summon 'Gearfried the Iron Knight' (1800/1600), 'Exiled Force' (1000/1000), 'Little-Winguard' (1400/1800), and 'Command Knight' (1200/1900) in attack mode. Then I play the Continuous Magic card 'The A. Forces', giving all my Warriors 200 ATK for every Warrior and Spellcaster I have on the field, so that's 1000 each. Plus, 'Command Knight' gives all my Warriors on the field another 400 ATK."

"So all your monsters gain 1400 ATK points!" Julie asked, shocked and overwhelmed.

"That's right," Jou said. "Power up guys." Total Defense Shogun: 2950/2500, Gearfried the Iron Knight: 3200/1600, Exiled Force: 2400/1000, Little-Winguard: 2800/1800, Command Knight: 2600/1900. "But because of 'Gathering Troops', I have to skip my Battle Phase this turn. So my turn ends."

"Watashi no turn, draw," Julie drew. "I gain 500 LPs from 'God's Blessing' (3700). And then…"

"The effect of 'Gathering Troops' activates," Jou interrupted.

"Nani?"

"During your Standby Phase, 'Gathering Troops' activates for you. So you must summon monsters at the cost of your Battle Phase."

"My Battle Phase?" Julie questioned, only to get a nod from Jou in response. "Curse you. Well then, I summon 'Rocket Warrior' (1500/1300) and 'Harpy Lady 2' (1300/1400). 'Harpy Lady 2' powers up (1800/1600) and then destroys 'The A. Forces'. So all your monsters loose 1000 ATK."

Jou placed his card in the graveyard. Total Defense Shogun: 1950/2500, Gearfried the Iron Knight: 2200/1600, Exiled Force: 1400/1000, Little-Winguard: 1800/1800, Command Knight: 1600/1900.

"Then," Julie went on, "I activate my 'Deal-Making Devil' Magic card. I know you're a gambler Jou, so you'll love this. We each choose one of the following to wager. 1000 LPs, one card from our hand, one card from the top of our deck, or control of one of our monsters."

"I choose a card from my deck," Jou decided.

"Then I choose 1 from my hand," Julie said.

"Now what?" Jou asked.

"Now I flip a coin," Julie replied, "And you call it. If you get it right, you win the wager. If you get it wrong, I win."

"Simple enough," Jou said.

Julie picked up the coin Jou had used and flipped it.

"Heads," Jou called as the coin spun through the air.

It landed with a small clink and jumped back a forth a moment. And then…

"It's tails!'" Julie exclaimed.

"No way, how can I have lost?" Jou inquired.

"That's how it goes," Julie said, "So send the top card from your deck to the graveyard."

Jou picked up the card and looked at it. He froze, staring at the card in sadly.

"What is it Joey?"

Jou shook his head a little before placing the card in the graveyard. Julie looked at it and suddenly felt guilty. Staring at her from the depths of the monster underworld were two ruby eyes, staring out of a midnight colored, reptilian-like head. Red-Eyes Black Dragon.

'_My best card,'_ Jou thought. _'Sent to the graveyard by my own lover. Ah, I need to get over it. It's a duel and that's how it goes.'_

"Joey I…"

"It's still your turn," Jou interrupted with a smile.

Julie started to apologize but realized Jou was serious and continued the duel. "Right. I sacrifice 'Rocket Warrior' and 'Female Warrior of the Moon' in order to summon my favorite and most powerful monster. 'Night's Lover, Aria' (1200/2600)."

"Only 1200 ATK?" Jou asked.

"Did you forget already, silly?" Julie replied. "Her ATK increases by the original ATK of the monsters I used to summon her. So she gains 1500 ATK from 'Rocket Warrior' and 2100 from 'Female Warrior of the Moon', increasing her ATK by 3600 (4800/2600)."

Jou's expression sank even further at the sight of the powerful monster before him.

"But thanks to 'Gathering Troop's' card, you get to survive for now," Julie said. "I cover 1 card and end my turn."

"Watashi no turn, draw." He looked at the card he'd drawn. It was pink with a green background on the picture with a robotic-looking thing on it. _'Metalmorph, this'll come in handy.'_ "I cover one card. 'Gearfried the Iron Knight' (2200/1600) attack 'Harpy Lady 1' (1800/1600)."

"Reveal facedown card, 'Harpy Lady – Suzaku Formation'," Julie said. "This card will activate when you try to attack one of my 'Harpy Lady's' while I have more than one on the field. It'll block all attacks for this turn."

Jou let out a little growl. "I switch all my other monsters to defense mode and end my turn."

"Watashi no turn, draw. My LPs increase from 'God's Blessing' (4200). I summon 'Element Magician' (1500/1200) and cover 1 card. 'Harpy Lady 1' (1800) attack 'Exiled Force' (1000)."

Jou placed the monster in the graveyard.

"Then 'Night's Lover, Aria' (4800) will attack 'Gearfried' (2200). Meaning I finally damaged your LPs," Julie said while Jou placed the monster in the graveyard and reduced his LPs. "My turns done."

Jou (1400) drew. "Yes! This is the card I need!" he exclaimed, causing a few people in the café to look at him. "I play 'Monster Reborn', reviving my 'Red-Eyes Black Dragon'."

"You activated the other effect of my 'Power of Faith' card," Julie interrupted.

"That thing's still there?"

"Yes, and because you revived a monster from your graveyard, you get a Magic card back as well."

"Really?" Jou picked up his graveyard and searched through. _'Not many choices,' _Jou thought. _'I've got 'Legendary Sword', 'Death Meteor', 'Precious Coins from Above', 'Gathering Troops', 'The A. Forces', and 'Monster Reborn'. I guess I'll go for the best bet.' _"I choose 'Monster Reborn', then use it to revive 'Gearfried the Iron Knight' (1800/1600), who'll power up from 'Command Knight'. And I'll switch all my monsters to attack mode."

"You forgot to get another Magic card back," Julie interjected.

"Did I?" Jou asked, holding up a card. "I think I'll use it, 'Precious Coins from Above'. So we draw till we have 6 cards each." He drew 6 cards.

"You activated 'God's Blessing' as well," Julie said, drawing 5 cards. "So my LPs increase to 4700."

"Big deal," Jou said, "I activate my facedown card 'Metalmorph', powering up my 'Red-Eyes' by 300 points (2700/2300). Next I activate 'Knight's Title'. This card will make one of my non-Warrior monsters count as a Warrior, so I choose 'Red-Eyes Black Dragon'. I guess you could say he's 'Red-Eyes Black Knight' now. And since my 'Red-Eyes' is a Warrior now, 'Command Knight' powers him up (3100). And now I play the Magic card 'Slashing Swords Star Formation'. This card will reduce the ATK of all my Warriors by 500." Total Defense Shogun (1450), Command Knight (1100), Little-Winguard (1300), Gearfried the Iron Knight (1700), Red-Eyes Black Knight (2600)

"Why weaken all your Warriors?" Julie asked.

"Because now my Magic card will let me battle them all against one of your monsters. I choose 'Night's Lover, Aria'."

A look of complete shock overtook Julie; she'd never seen a card like that before. "Let's see. 1450 1100 1300 1700 2600 8150 – the 4800 ATK of 'Aria' and I'll take 3350 damage."

"Close," Jou said, "But 'Red-Eyes Black Knight' is equipped with 'Metalmorph'. And if a monster with 'Metalmorph' attacks they gain ATK equal to half the ATK of the monster they're battling. Since 'Aria' has 4800 ATK, my 'Red-Eyes' gains 2400 ATK."

Julie took a second to add things up in her head. "That's 10550 ATK total, that means I'll loose 5750 LPs."

"Sorry koibito, but it ends now. Attack my warriors." A huge smile crossed Jou's face at his victory. _'I'm sorry Julie-chan, but I just won.'_

"Reveal facedown card," Julie said. "'Demon's Dice'! I trust you know this card, I roll a die and the roll will divide one of you monster's ATK. I choose 'Red-Eyes Black Knight'."

Jou rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a die. "Good luck," he said, handing the die to Julie.

"Arigatou, Joey," Julie said before rolling. _'Please…'_

**

* * *

Ryu:** Time for more quick notes on cards. 

**Kioku:** Just so you know, the chapter is over, the rest is all card stuff for you dueling fans. So you can skip over it if you want.

**Ryu:** Anyway, first is 'Death Meteor'. The version in here is the version that appeared in the anime. Here's the differences.

Death Meteor (Anime version)  
Normal Magic  
EFT: Inflict 1000 points of direct damage to your opponent's LPs. If your opponent controls a monster or monsters you must command one to attack you.

Death Meteor (Real version)  
Normal Magic  
EFT: Inflict 1000 points of direct damage to your opponent's LPs. If your opponent has 3000 or less LPs you cannot activate this card.

**Ryu: **Next is 'Tough Love', which is another of my originals. This fic has the original version but if you read LLD then it's the updated version.

Tough Love (Original)  
Normal Magic  
EFT: Pick up the top 5 cards from your deck and show them to your opponent. Select 1 and add it to your hand. Your opponent then selects 2ne and sends them to the graveyard. The remaining 2 are shuffled back into your deck.

Tough Love (Updated)  
Normal Magic  
EFT: Pick up the top 5 cards from your deck and show them to your opponent. Select 1 and add it to your hand. Your opponent then selects one and sends it to the graveyard. The remaining 3 are shuffled back into your deck.

**Ryu:** My next one is 'Power of Faith', another original.

Power of Faith (SR)  
Continuous Magic  
EFT: When this card is activated, Special Summon one monster from your graveyard. Afterwards, whenever a player revives a monster from their own graveyard, they may also add one Magic card from their graveyard to their hand.

**Ryu:** Here's one you may recognize from the anime. The card 'Precious Coins from Above' that is used in here is known as 'Card of Sanctity' in the anime. But the real 'Card of Sanctity' is crap, so I took the original effect and changed the name.

Card of Sanctity/Precious Coins from Above (Anime version)  
Normal Magic  
EFT: Each player draws until they have 6 cards in their hand.

Card of Sanctity (Real version)  
Normal Magic  
EFT: Remove all cards in you hand and on your field from play. Draw until you have 2 cards in your hand.

**Ryu:** Here's another of mine, 'Gathering Troops'.

Gathering Troops (UR)  
Normal Magic  
EFT: Special Summon as many Level 4 or lower monster's from your hand to the field in face-up attack mode as you can. You must skip your Battle Phase for this turn. During your opponent's next Standby Phase, they must Special Summon as many Level 4 or lower monsters as they can from their hand to the field in face-up attack mode. They may not enter a Battle Phase during that turn.

**Ryu:** Guess what, I came up with 'Deal-Making Devil'.

**Kioku:** You're so full of yourself.

**Ryu: **So what, here's the stuff on this card.

Deal-Making Devil (SR)  
Normal Magic  
EFT: You and your opponent both agree to wager one of the following that they can fulfill (player's choose):  
-1000 LPs  
-1 card from the top of their deck.  
-1 random card from their hand.  
-Control of one monster on their side of the field.  
The owner of this card flips a coin and their opponent calls heads or tail. If your opponent calls right, they get what this cards owner wagered. If they call wrong, this cards owner gets what their opponent wagered.

**Ryu:** Here's 'Harpy Lady –Suzaku Formation', English name 'Harpy Lady – Sparrow Formation'. It's not a real card, it only appears in the anime, used by Mai in the Doma arc.

Harpy Lady – Suzaku Formation  
Normal Trap  
EFT: You can only activate this card when your opponent declares an attack on one of your face-up 'Harpy Lady' monsters while you have more than one on the field. Negate the attack and end your opponent's Battle Phase.

**Ryu: **This next one will take a bit. The effect of 'Knight's Title' was changed when it was released. The version in here is the anime version.

Knight's Title (Anime version)  
Normal Magic  
EFT: Change one monster on your side of the field into a Warrior type.

Knight's Title (Real version)  
Normal Magic  
EFT: Sacrifice one 'Black Magician' on your side of the field. Special Summon one 'Black Magician's Knight' from your hand or deck.

**Ryu:** Now, I liked the idea of a Warrior type 'Red-Eyes', but since 'Knight's Title' only works on 'Black Magician' I had to create these two cards.

Red-Eyes Black Knight (UR)  
7/DARK/Warrior/EFT  
ATK: 2400 DEF: 2000  
EFT: This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This monster can only be Special Summoned by the effect of 'Knighting Ceremony'. When this monster is Special Summoned you may add one Trap card from your deck to your hand.

Knighting Ceremony (C)  
Normal Magic  
EFT: Sacrifice one 'Red-Eyes Black Dragon' on your side of the field. Special Summon one 'Red-Eyes Black Knight' from your hand or deck.

**Ryu:**_ /sigh/_ Here's another one that I made, 'Slashing Sword Star Formation'.

Slashing Sword Star Formation (UR)  
Instant Magic  
EFT: This card can only be activated if you have 5 face-up attack position Warrior monsters on your side of the field. Reduce the ATK of all monsters on your side of the field by 500 until the end of this turn. During the Battle Phase of this turn you may select one monster on your opponent's side of the field and battle it against all monsters on your side of the field. After the Damage Step, the Battle Phase for this turn ends.

**Ryu:** Okay, here's the last one, butI didn't do it. It's 'Demon's Dice', known in the English version as 'Skull Dice'. But has 2 different effects, 1 anime and 1 real.

Demon's Dice (Anime)  
Normal Trap (dub)/Instant Magic (sub)  
EFT: Select one of your opponent's face-up monsters and roll a six-sided die. Divide the selected monster's ATK by the roll.

Demon's Dice (real)  
Normal Trap  
EFT: Roll a six-sided die. Reduce the ATK and DEF of all monsters on your opponent's side of the field by 100 times the roll until the end of the turn.


	8. Victory Leading Towards Defeat

**Disclaimer: **No I don't own Yuugiou or Yuugiou: Duel Monsters or Yuugiou: Duel Monsters GX or anything related except for a few stories I wrote and so cards I made up. Glad we're clear on that.

**Ryu:**_ /sigh/_ More thank you stuff to do.

**Felidae:** Sorry about the double cliffy. Don't worry, you'll get the end of the duel in this chappy. Or will you?

**Lil'Lena:** Glad you liked it. I hope you didn't just like it because of the scene in chappy 5 because there's no more of that. Anyway, thanks for checking it out.

**Kioku:** That wasn't so bad.

**Ryu: **I guess, now let's get back to work.

* * *

Chapter 8: Victory Leading Towards Defeat

The die clunked once on the table. Twice. Trice. Then twirled a little until finally it settled on a number

"Five. Yes! Yes! Yes!" Julie (4700) exclaimed. "That mean's your 'Red-Eyes Black Knight's' ATK is divided by 5, reducing its ATK from 5000 to 1000."

"So what?" Jou (1400) said. "My 'Slashing Sword Star Formation' card still has 6550 ATK. Meaning 'Night's Lover, Aria' (4800/2600) is destroyed and you loose 1750 LPs."

Julie (2950) placed her treasured card in the graveyard. "Since the Damage Step has ended, the power up effect of 'Metalmorph' disappears. So your 'Red-Eyes Black Knight' loses 2400 ATK, leaving it with zero."

"Maybe so, that's why I'm covering these two cards, ending my turn," Jou said, hiding two cards on the field. "And since my turn has ended, the effect of my 'Slashing Swords' card ends, so all my monsters gain back 500 ATK." Total Defense Shogun (1950/2500), Command Knight (1600/1900), Little-Winguard (1800/1800), Gearfried the Iron Knight (2200/1600), Red-Eyes Black Knight (500/2300)

"Watashi no turn, draw," Julie drew, "'God's Blessing' gives me 500 LPs (3450). Standby Phase, activate the effect of 'Night's Lover, Aria'."

"Another one?"

"Yup. By sacrificing a LIGHT monster from my field, I can Special Summon her from the graveyard. I sacrifice 'Element Magician' (1500/1200) to revive 'Aria'."

"What about her ATK?" Jou asked, "Is it still super-charged?"

"No," Julie said, "her ATK first reduces to its original amount (1200/2600). But then, it's increased by 200 times the level of the monster I sacrificed to revive her. 'Element Magician' is a level 4 monster, so 'Aria' gains 800 ATK (2000)."

"2000? That's a cake walk," Jou said.

"It gets better Joey. First, 'Power of Faith' activates. I'll take 'Cyber Bondage' from my graveyard. Then, I activate 'Aria's' final effect. If her ATK strength is at 2000 or less, then I Special Summon a LIGHT monster from the graveyard in defense mode with half its ATK. I choose 'Female Warrior of the Moon' (1050/1400). And then 'Power of Faith' gives me another Magic card back. I choose 'Tough Love'."

"Jeez, it's just your Standby Phase and it seems like it's been a whole turn," Jou whined.

"You're too kind," Julie joked. "I play 'Double Life-Ender'. For every 500 LPs I pay, you have to send one card from your deck to the graveyard. I pay 2000 LPs (1450). So send the top 4 cards from your deck to the graveyard."

"Four, where do you find these cards?" Jou said as he sent the top 4 cards from his deck to the graveyard. Burning Heart Flame Swordsman, Demon's Dice, Landstar Swordsman, and Fusion.

"Next," Julie said, "I play 'Tough Love'." She picked up 5 cards and showed them to Jou: Giant Trunade, Cyclone, Android Psycho Shocker, Amazon Archer, and Landstar Swordsman. "I put 'Cyclone' in my hand."

"Then I send 'Android Psycho Shocker' and 'Amazon Archer' to the graveyard," Jou said without waiting.

"Then I send 'Giant Trunade' and 'Landstar Swordsman' back to my deck." She placed the cards on top of her thinned deck and shuffled. "I cover 2 cards. Then use 'Cyclone' on that facedown card," she pointed to the card nearest Jou's deck.

"I chain the card," Jou said. He turned over the pink card with a tornado and a few feathers on its picture. "'Dust Tornado', and just like you 'Cyclone', it can destroy 1 Magic or Trap card on the field. I choose 'Harpy Hunting Ground'."

They each sent their cards to the graveyard, the ATK and DEF of Julie's harpies reducing to 1600/1400 each.

"Then," Jou said, "I can cover a card from my hand." He placed a card facedown.

"My harpies will stay strong though. I use 'Cyber Bondage' powering up the ATK of 'Harpy Lady 1' by 500 points (2100/1400). 'Harpy Lady 1', attack 'Command Knight'."

"Reveal facedown card, 'Compensation of Arbitration'. Now you choose two cards in your graveyard and shuffle them with this one," Jou instructed.

"Okay?" Julie said, curiously. "I pick 'Necklace of Gifts and Plunder' and 'Element Magician'." She placed the two cards facedown with Jou's card and shuffled them. "Now what?"

"Shuffle them good, Julie-chan," Jou advised. "I get to choose one. If I choose 'Compensation of Arbitration', then this turns Battle Phase ends and you put the two cards on top of your deck. If I pick one of the other cards, that card and 'Compensation of Arbitration' go to the graveyard and the other card goes on top your deck, but the battle continues."

"You should have told me that, I would have picked better cards," Julie complained.

"That's life," Jou said, "Now let's see. I pick the one on the left."

Julie turned over the card to reveal a pink border with the picture of a demonic spirit taking a peasant away: 'Compensation of Arbitration'.

"My luck still holds out," Jou said. "So your attack and Battle Phase both end."

"But I get to put 'Necklace of Gifts and Plunder' and 'Element Magician' back on top of my deck." She placed the cards. "I end my turn."

Jou drew. "I switch 'Command Knight', 'Little-Winguard', and 'Red-Eyes Black Knight' to defense mode. 'Gearfried', attack 'Aria'."

Julie (1250) placed her monster back in the graveyard.

"'Total Defense Shogun', attack 'Female Warrior of the Moon'."

Julie placed that card in the graveyard as well.

"I place two cards facedown and end my turn."

Julie drew 'Necklace of Gifts and Plunder'. "My LPs increase (1950). And since my LPs increased, I can activate my 'Double Life-Saver' Trap card. This will give me 1000 more LPs (2950), and let you draw 1 card."

Jou drew his card. "Since you don't have a LIGHT monster on the field, you can't revive 'Aria'."

"I don't need her to win this duel." Julie said. "First I equip 'Harpy Lady 3' with 'Necklace of Gifts and Plunder'. Then I play 'Devastation of Greed'. This card will sacrifice the weakest monster I have on the field and let me draw one card. 'Harpy Lady 2' and 'Harpy Lady 3' have equal ATK strength, so I get to pick which one goes. I sacrifice 'Harpy Lady 3' and draw, increasing my LPs (3450). And since my 'Necklace' went to the graveyard, I can draw a card or send a card from your hand to the graveyard. I choose to draw, increasing my LPs again (3950). And then, I play 'Angel's Gift', letting me draw 3 cards, giving me 500 LPs (4450), then forcing me to discard two. I choose 'Angel's Dice' and 'Magic Effect Arrow'."

"Can't you ever take a short turn?" Jou asked boredly.

"It won't be much longer until your LPs are at zero," Julie replied.

"Cocky, aren't we?"

"Maybe later," Julie said, drawing a blush to Jou's face. She giggled a little before continuing. "I summon 'Copycat' (0/0). When he's summoned, I can copy the original ATK and DEF of own of your monsters for him. And I choose 'Red-Eyes Black Knight' (2400/2000). 'Copycat', attack his 'Red-Eyes'."

"Reveal facedown card, 'Final Attack Order'," Jou said, flipping one of his cards over.

"Why put all your monster's in attack mode?" Julie asked, confusion and worry clear on her face.

"Because now I'm activating this card," Jou said, switching all his monsters to attack mode. "'Take One Chance'. Now I can draw one card at random from my graveyard and activate it." He picked up his graveyard, turned it upside down, shuffled it, and drew one from within. "I play," he turned the card around, a smirk on his face, "'Slashing Swords Star Formation'. Now all my monsters will battle your 'Copycat'. They all loose 500 ATK, but my 'Red-Eyes' gains 1200 from 'Metalmorph'. Let's see, 'Total Defense Shogun' (1450) plus 'Command Knight' (1100) plus 'Little-Winguard' (1300) plus 'Gearfried' (1700) plus 'Red-Eyes Black Knight' (1200) equals 6550. Minus the 2400 from 'Copycat' equals 4350. Leaving you with 100 LPs."

Julie (100) placed 'Copycat' in the graveyard.

"Julie-chan, when you end your turn, I'll win the duel," Jou (1400) warned.

"Not quite Joey," Julie said. "I play 'Giant Trunade', sending all Magic and Trap cards back to our hands." They each place their cards in their hand. "I switch my 2 harpies to defense mode. Then I play 'Power of Faith'. Now I can revive a monster from my graveyard. I choose 'Android Psycho Shocker' (2400/1500). And I think I'll use 'Monster Reborn' too, reviving 'Female Warrior of the Moon'. Which means I get a Magic card back. I choose 'Monster Reborn'. I cover one other card, ending my turn."

Jou drew. _'I had to give her 'Psycho Shocker'. Now my traps are useless. And that's mostly what I've got in hand.' _"I switch all my monsters to defense mode too. And play 'Dangerous Machine Type-6'. Once my next Standby Phase comes around, it'll activate."

"Provided you get another Standby Phase," Julie teased.

"End of turn."

Julie drew. "'Psycho Shocker' attacks 'Command Knight'."

Jou placed the card in the graveyard.

"Now all your monsters weaken," Julie reminded him.

Total Defense Shogun 1550, Red-Eyes Black Knight 100, Gearfried the Iron Knight 1800, Little-Winguard 1400

Julie's attack continued, "'Female Warrior of the Moon' attacks 'Red-Eyes Black Knight'. Since it's a DARK monster, my warrior gains 1000 ATK (3100)."

Jou placed his second monster in the graveyard, along with the 'Metalmorph' card.

"I end my turn."

Jou drew. "'Dangerous Machine Type-6' activates. Now I roll a die and the number that comes up determines the effect." He picked up the die and rolled a 2. "Two, that means you loose a card in your hand."

Julie discarded 'Cyber Bondage'.

"Next I use 'Summon Dice'. At the cost of 1000 LPs (LPs: 400) I can roll a die and use a different effect depending on the roll." He picked up the die and rolled it again, receiving a 1 this time. "One, that means I get two Normal Summons this turn. First I summon 'Blue Flame Swordsman' (1800/1600) in defense mode. Then, I sacrifice 'Little-Winguard' to summon 'Maximum Six' (1900/1600) in attack mode. When this monster is Tribute Summoned, I can roll a die and his ATK will increase by the number rolled times 200." Jou picked up the die and rolled 1 again. "'Maximum Six' gains 200 ATK (2100). Then I play 'Treasure of Fate'. I roll a die and draw number of cards equal to the roll. Then I remove cards from the top of my deck from play." He rolled, again, and got a one, again. "I draw one card. Then remove this card from play". Rocket Warrior. He glanced down at his thin deck, then at Julie's a wave of amusement hit him and he started laughing.

"What so funny Joey?" Julie asked indignantly.

"We drew so many cards in different ways, yet some how we still have the same number of cards left in our decks. It's so random," he laughed out.

Julie counted the cards in each of their decks and realized he was right. She began to laugh a little. "You're so silly Joey. Come on, play your turn."

"Okay," Jou said, gaining control of your laughter. "Let's see. You have a facedown card. But if it's a Trap, then 'Psycho Shocker' will block it. So I shouldn't have anything to worry about. 'Maximum Six' and 'Total Defense Shogun' attack her 'Harpy Ladies'."

Julie placed her harpies in the graveyard.

"Then," Jou said, "I'll reinforce my LPs, even if I have to do so with yours as well. I play 'Rain of Mercy', giving use each 1000 LPs."

"You're so sweet Joey," Julie (1100) complemented.

"I can't help it," Jou (1400) confessed. "I end my turn."

Julie drew. As she looked at the card, a tear came to her eye. "Gomen, Joey, but this duel is over now."

"What do you mean?" Jou asked.

"You put up a good fight Jou, but I'm going to win." Julie said, ignoring his question. "I summon the 'Magician of Faith' (300/400) in attack mode."

"Why summon that monster instead of trying to use its effect?" Jou asked, confusion settling in.

"Because," Julie replied, "I needed it to complete this move. I play 'Monster Reborn' and sacrifice 'Female Warrior of the Moon' and 'Magician of Faith'."

"Sacrificing for 'Monster Reborn'? What gives?"

"I have to sacrifice two LIGHT monsters to summon this monster, even if it's because of the effect of a different card. I revive 'Night's Lover, Aria' (1200/2600). And her ATK increases by 2400 (3600)."

"So it's really over then, isn't it," Jou said.

"I'm afraid so," Julie replied, "'Night's Lover, Aria', attack 'Maximum Six'. 'Celestial Evening Blast'."

Jou blinked once at those words. But that blink seemed like an eternity. In the darkness of his own eyes, he could see the battle play out. 'Maximum Six', striking out with all six of its massive, dark blue arms, yet each attempt missed as the flying sorceress in her navy robes, speckled with silver, a silver crescent-moon necklace at her neck, dodged each blow before chanting a spell that released a surge of night energy. The darkness and stars encircled the six-armed, blue giant before completely covering it and disappearing, taking the beast with it. When Jou opened his eyes, Julie was smiling at him, a single tear trailing down her cheek.

Jou smiled back, placed his fallen beast in the graveyard, and deducted 1500 from his LPs.

Jou's LPs: -100 "That's game," he said.

"Good game Joey," Julie said, blowing a kiss to him.

**(PRESENT)**

"So you lost?" Dr Heisi asked, looking slightly shocked.

"Don't sound so surprised," Jou retorted, "She's really good. And had a lot of cards I'd never seen or heard of before."

"Gomen, Jounouchi-san. So what did the two of you do next?" Heisi asked. She had put down her clipboard, entranced in the duel, as well as Jou's ability to remember it move for move. Yes, the doctor was a dueling fan, but that she kept to herself.

Jou was looking at the floor, trying to hide the tears he was holding back.

"Jounouchi-san?"

Jou wiped his face and looked up. "Gomen. Anyway, after the duel, we left and just hung out all day. Around seven I took her home. I didn't want her to leave, especially to the place with her father. But she said she had to so I let her. She promised to sneak out and meet me around midnight; her father would be out so he would never know. But it was about three hours later that she…she…"

He couldn't hold them back the tears pushed through and Jounouchi broke down sobbing. His body shook with grief at the memory of that fateful night.


	9. And That's All She Wrote

**Disclaimer: **No I don't own Yuugiou or Yuugiou: Duel Monsters or Yuugiou: Duel Monsters GX or anything related except for a few stories I wrote and so cards I made up. Glad we're clear on that.

* * *

Chapter 9: And That's All She Wrote.

Dr. Heisi was dumbfounded at Jou's sudden show of emotion. She reached forward to try and comfort him only to have the boy withdraw gruffly. She pulled her hand back and waited until, finally, Jou began to regain himself. He looked up at her with eyes red from sobbing, tears still forming.

"Jounouchi-san?" she questioned nervously.

"Gomen nasai, Heisi-sensei," Jou said, wiping his eyes.

"You shouldn't have to apologize Jounouchi-san," Heisi informed him. "It's a very delicate subject, I understand, and it's hard to talk about. But sooner or later, when you're ready, I think it would be in you best interest to talk this out."

Jou could only nod, wiping his eyes again.

Dr. Heisi got up, crossed to the water cooler, and filled a styrophoam cup with hot water. She then took a teabag out of the box above the cooler and placed it in the hot water. After a few minutes, when the water had taken on a greenish color, she removed the bag, depositing it in trash, and crossed back to the shivering Jounouchi.

"Here, drink this," she offered, holding the cup to him.

"Arigatou," Jou said, taking the cup gratefully. He downed half the cup in one gulp while Dr. Heisi took up her position in her chair again, pen and paper at the ready incase Jou decided to speak.

Jou drank the rest of his tea in smaller sips, pausing every now and then to blow on the liquid he had slowly realized was very hot. "She called me about ten that night," he finally said.

"Two hours before you were supposed to go pick her up?" Dr. Heisi questioned.

"Hai," Jou responded, "And I guess this takes us back to where the story started back when I walked in."

**(FLASHBACK TO THAT NIGHT)**

The phone at the Jounouchi residence rang once. Shizuka Jounouchi, who was in the kitchen at the time, her long t-shirt hanging down her front, picked it up. She looked at the number on caller ID, not recognizing it, and clicked the TALK button.

"Moshi moshi, Jounouchi residents," Shizuka said cheerfully.

"Hello, Shizuka-chan," came the tear-stricken voice of Julie Knollmen. "Can I talk with Joey please?"

Shizuka was going to question Julie's miserable sounding state when Jou walked by. "Onii-chan, it's Julie-san for you," Shizuka said, holding the phone out to her brother, a look of worry on her face. "She sounds kind of upset."

Jou took the phone quickly, "Moshi moshi, Julie-chan? What's wrong? Are you all right? Julie-chan?"

Julie laughed mentally at Jou's worry, a small shining of happiness in the misery that had engulfed her. "Listen Joey," she said, ignoring Jou's questions. "Please, don't come over Joey."

"What's wrong, Julie-chan?"

"Just please don't come over. My dad and I just had a fight. He was drunk and stormed out the door. I've never seen him act this way, my god he's going crazy. He knows what we did and said he was going to make you pay for what we've done. He's got a gun Joey. So just run Joey!"

"But Julie-chan-"

"Just run, Joey, run!" The line went dead.

"Julie-san? Julie-san!"

Katsuya Jounouchi stood holding the phone. Time seemed to have frozen around him. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard. He looked over to his younger sister, who was still standing in the hall. She'd only heard his side of the conversation, but she still could feel the intensity and urgency of what had transpired in the discussion.

"Onii-chan," she started.

"Shizuka-chan," Jou interrupted, "I have to go to her. I can't leave her alone." He turned and started down the hall.

"Onii-chan," Shizuka called after him.

Jou froze and looked back at her, panic stricken and upset at being halted, cheeks already being stained with tears.

"Be careful, onii-chan. Aishiteru."

"Hai, Shizuka-chan," Jou said, giving her a reassuring nod before turning the corner.

He grabbed his keys off their hook as he rushed down the stairs, barely able to get his shoes on fully as he ran out the door and jumped into his car. He fumbled with the keys, dropping them once and cursing at himself before finally getting them into the ignition. Starting the car, Jou backed out of the driveway with full force, not bothering with his seatbelt, almost running over the mailbox across the street in the process. He threw the car into drive and was off. He paid no attention to stop sign, or traffic light, as he sped over the speed limit towards Julie's house, thanking the gods above that there were few people on the road and no police at all.

The usual ten-minute drive across town took a mere three as he pulled into the parking lot of his former apartment building. He looked up at the room he and his father had shared, cursing it and blaming this mess on it, although he wasn't entirely sure why. Drawing himself out of the past and back to the present, Jounouchi ran across the street, not stopping until he reached Julie's dying lawn. There, he could see her running towards him from within the darkness of her house, her face bruised all over, making it the same color as her hair, tears streaming down her cheeks from her red eyes. She ran right into Jou's opened arms and sobbed relentlessly into his shirt.

"Joey…what are you doing here…I'm so glad to see you…it's not safe…thank God you're here…" Julie was in complete hysterics. She kept confusing her joy of seeing Jou with her anger at his stupidity for showing up. "Baka…koi…"

"It's okay Julie-san, it's okay," he assured her, stroking her hair and kissing her head. "What happened, Julie-san? How did he find out?"

"I wrote it down. I wrote in my diary that it was the greatest night of my life," Julie explained, not calming in the least. "He read it! He read my diary! My own father violated my privacy again! While I was in the shower he read my diary! He attacked me when I got out, not giving me the chance to even dress or hardly dry! He hit me relentlessly, calling me a 'whore' and 'useless' and 'stupid' before taking his gun and storming out the door. I dressed and called you. I told you not to come! And you came! You came! Why did you come? Thank God you came! But why?" Her voice was so hoarse from crying and screaming that it hurt to just inhale. She fell silent, shuddering in Jou's arms.

"Why did I come?" he asked as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Aishiteru. I came because I love you. Don't worry Julie-chan. Everything will be all right."

Jou held her to his chest as tightly as he could without hurting her. In the back of his mind, he kept telling himself that he was responsible for it. _'I shouldn't have let her go home. I should have told her to come with me. Why did I have to screw THIS up?'_

His muscles tensed as his thoughts drifted behind him. He turned his head to see a dark figure staggering toward him through the darkness, something metallic glinting in his hand, reflecting the light of the street lamp above.

Julie, curious as to what had caught Jou's attention, looked up in time to see her father raising his gun to the back of Jou's head, ready to take the life of her beloved.

"Watch out Joey! He's got a gun!" Without thinking, she put all her strength into forcing Jou out of the way just as a shot echoed through the air.

Jou turned back just in time to see Julie's limp body fall helplessly to the ground.

"Look what you did you damned little pup!" Mr. Knollmen roared, turning his gun on Jounouchi.

Jou looked at him. Everything in his life came flooding into his mind. His parents divorce, the physical abuse of his father, fighting along side Hirutani, stealing the final piece of the Sennen Puzzle, the verbal abuse of Seto Kaiba, Mai being sent to the Shadow Realm, loosing to Mariku in the semi-finals, everything came flooding forth in one instant as Jou leapt toward him.

"You fucking bastard!" Jou roared out.

Julie's father pulled the trigger again, this time only to be responded to with a light clicking noise. No more bullets. He looked up as Jou's fist came into contact with his face, sending the older man a good few feet through the air before he hit the ground. Satisfied that the older was knocked out, Jou ran to Julie's side and collapsed next to her. He drew up her bloodied form to his chest, holding her close as he could.

"Julie-san, please wake up. Julie-san! Julie-san!"

Slowly, she opened her clouded eyes and smiled at him. She opened her mouth to speak, her voice heavy. "Daddy please don't…it wasn't his fault." She gave a small cough, blood coming to her lips. "He means so much to me. Daddy please don't…we're gonna…get…mar-ried…" Her eyes fell shut. Her body went completely limp and began to loose heat. And there she was left, lifeless in the arms of her lover.

"Julie-san," Jou sobbed out, "Julie-san, Julie-san!"

**(PRESENT)**

"Julie-san!" Jou screamed, causing Dr. Heisi to jump. He continued to scream, he screamed like it was his last task in this cruel world. Then he suddenly stopped. He fell silent. His eyes blanked and a small smile crossed his face.

"Jounouchi-san?" Dr. Heisi had left her chair and was approaching him cautiously.

"Julie-san…" All emotion left Jounouchi's face as his eyes slipped closed and he fell to the floor, completely unconscious.

"Jounouchi-san! Jounouchi-san!" Dr. Heisi shook him viciously, but got no response. She checked his pulse to discover it was very high. She quickly jumped from the floor and ran out of the office, screaming, "Some call an ambulance, I need help."

Katsuya Jounouchi lay motionless on the office floor. He'd given up. He didn't want to live anymore. So he willed himself to die. And his wish was granted as he descended into eternal darkness. He was going to join Julie in the afterlife. And so he let the gods take him. And that's all she wrote.


	10. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: **No I don't own Yuugiou or Yuugiou: Duel Monsters or Yuugiou: Duel Monsters GX or anything related except for a few stories I wrote and so cards I made up. Glad we're clear on that.

* * *

Epilogue

Dr. Heisi sat in her office, a cup of coffee slowing become ice cold on her desk, going over hundreds of papers. The police report she'd filled out, the autopsy report copy she'd gotten, the notes from that day. It was one month ago that a young boy by the name of Katsuya Jounouchi had passed on to the next world on the floor of her very office. She read through her notes over again. She didn't know why, but reading them made her feel a bit better.

'Therapists Notes 7/23/03 Subject: Katsuya Jounouchi (16)

He prefers to be called Jou, although his girlfriend called him Joey due to his American appearance and accent. His girlfriend passed away. Those are the dreams that he's been having. The night she died has been replayed in his mind many nights.

His girlfriend was killed by her abusive, alcoholic father. His intent was to kill Jou, but she saved his life at her own cost.

Right now he's asleep. He passed out in the doorway on the way out. I was able to move him onto the couch, but he's out like a light, apparently from lack of sleep.

I cancelled all other appointments for the rest of the day so that I might explore further into the matter, once Jounouchi-san wakes up…

…After awakening, Jou-san began telling me of Julie-san, his deceased girlfriend, and their relationship. They met when Julie-san transferred to their class…

…Julie-san went with Jou-san to help him move some things, he's moving in with his mother and sister while his father moves to America…

…They became a couple that night…

…The relationship was kept a secret. Jou-san and Julie-san went on their first date, but stopped when Julie-san confessed what her father was doing to her to Jou…

…They spent the night in the apartment Jou-san and his father had shared. He decided to create a happy memory in that place, just one to shine through all the miserable ones…'

She shifted through the papers on her desk until she found her personal diary and began to write.

'8/21/03, Rainy

No matter how many times I go through the papers, I can't bring myself to calm down about poor Jounouchi-kun. Dying right in my own office, it's too much to bear.

I've read the autopsy report over hundreds of times. Something in them still shocks me. Something Jounouchi-san never told me about.

During the weeks between the death of Julie-san and Jounouchi-san's visit to me, the weeks in which he had the recurring dreams of Julie-san's death, Jounouchi-san tried different kinds of sleeping medication that were found in his body. It was assumed that he'd taken these in order to put himself into a state of dreamless sleep.

Trace amounts of alcohol were also found in his body, which has led the medics to believe that he was drinking while using these sleeping aids, causing a reaction within his body. They believe he should have died long ago, but his will to live kept him going.

That's why I cry when think of it. To think that someone who seemed so strong could just give up like that.'

A single tear ran down her face and dropped onto her diary. She collapsed into her arms, sobbing violently. In the few hours she'd known the boy, he'd touched her heart in such a way. And then he'd given up and left right before her. That's why she cried. For the boy who's will was shattered by the lose of his love

**(An excerpt from the diary of Shizuka Jounouchi: )**

It's been a whole month since onii-chan died. I can't believe he's gone. I can't believe someone as sweet and kind as Jounouchi is gone. He paid for my eye operation, and I never got to pay him back. I feel so cheap.

Otou-san wasn't at the funeral. I didn't expect him to show up, although I guess I hoped he would. But he's never cared about anyone but himself. I can't believe okaa-san would leave Jounouchi with him. That she would split us up.

After being apart from onii-san for so long, I was finally brought back together with him, only to have him taken away from me again.

I loved onii-chan. I loved him more than anyone in the world. I wanted to be with him forever. Sometimes I want to die. So that I can go join him. So I can be with him forever. But I was so sad, I don't know if I can bare it. I could never make onii-chan happy, not in the ways Julie-san could, not in the ways I would have wanted too.

But I still love him. Someday I hope to be reunited with him. But I guess that me living would make him happy. So if it will make onii-chan happy, I will live on. And I will miss him.

Aishiteru, onii-chan.'

**(At the Kame Game Shop)**

Yugi Mutou sat in his room, shuffling through his deck, not actually seeing the cards before his very eyes. He didn't notice the flash of golden light that came from the Sennen Puzzle at his neck. He didn't notice the ethereal form of the nameless pharaoh until he felt a ghostly hand touch his shoulder, causing him to jump.

"Mo hitori no boku," he gasped out, "You startled me."

"Is something wrong aibou?" the spirit asked.

Yugi closed his eyes, a small smile on his face as he shook his head. Yami quirked an eyebrow, obviously not convinced.

"Really," Yugi said, "It's nothing."

"You were thinking about Jounouchi-kun," the pharaoh stated rather than asked.

Yugi let out a heavy sigh. "I can't keep anything from you, can I?" he said, causing the pharaoh to shake his head.

"Aibou, I loved Jounouchi-kun as much as you," Yami assured him, "But he is gone and as much as I don't like it we have to move on."

"I know, but it's not easy," Yugi said exasperated.

"Of course I know," Yami said solemnly, "I lost everything. For 3000 years, I've had nothing. Now I have you. And Anzu-chan and Honda-kun and everyone. I had Jounouchi-kun too, and I think I still may, but we can't dwindle on him."

"How can you be so cold!" Yugi shouted, surprising himself and the spirit as he shot from his chair, letting his deck fall to the floor.

Yami put his arms around Yugi's shoulders, drawing him into a warming embrace. "Gomen, gomen nasai, aibou. Being trapped for 3000 years can be so awful. It can make you so cold." He kissed the top of the little light's head. "But you must believe me, I did love Jounouchi-kun and I always will. But dwelling on the past won't bring him back."

Yugi sniffled once as he looked up at his yami. "You're right, we have to move on. For own sake, and for Jou's."

"That's right, aibou." Yami pulled his light back into his embrace, letting the little teen snuggle into the leather of his shirt.

They weren't aware that just outside the window, the spirit of a once blonde-haired boy floated, watching the form of his best friend from life embrace the spirit that resided within the boy. He longed to be there, to be anywhere, anywhere he could embrace the ones he loved. But alas, he knew that he could never feel human warmth again. You can't feel anything as just a soul. So why did he feel so sad.

He shivered as his macabre body longed for tears, knowing they would never come. All Katsuya Jounouchi wanted was to cry, but he couldn't even do that. So he sat in the air, shivering. He didn't notice the second spiritual being approaching him. He did, though, feel the hand on his shoulder. He felt it. Shocked, Jou turned his head to meet a pair of eyes that had once been a deep indigo-blue, and one single tear leaked out of his death's eyes and down his cheek, only to be licked away by the spirit of the love he'd followed into death.

* * *

**Ryu:** And there you have it, the end of 'Run, Joey, Run'.

**Kioku:** We finall got it back up. Yay!

**Ryu:** My light and I want to thank the few new readers we aquired. We hoped you enjoyed it. Well, that's it for this fic. Ja.

Ryu and Kioku Jonesu  
January 19, 2005


End file.
